The tradition of the Christmas Pantomime was sadly missed last year so, as we wait for Robin Hood to begin at the White Rock Theatre in Hastings, there is a real sense of both excitement and relief (although dark clouds are appearing on the horizon once more). The theatre is almost at capacity, with current rules and safety protocols being followed so well that the audience are very relaxed as the lights go down, the music begins and Fairy Glade (Abigail Matthews) appears in a huge puff of smoke.
As she has appears in Sherwood Forest, near Nottingham, her strong West Country accent is a little misplaced, but she soon sets the scene for the curtain to lift and the opening “village scene” to take place. Led by Maid Marion (Frances Dee), the villagers (Morgan Scott, Megan Johnson, Jessica Sutton, Aaron Patel and (the superbly gymnastic) George Michaelides, dance and sing so loudly that the evil Sheriff of Nottingham (Adam Strong), supported by his “henchperson” Little Joan (Helen Colby), decides to ban dancing.
His decision is a rather unfortunate one, as Robin Hood is played by former Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer, Brendan Cole, who takes centre stage following several, well executed, pirouettes. Of course, it is very difficult for a ballroom dancer, who needs to display large amounts of grace and fluidity, to be convincing as a butch, forest dwelling robber, but this is addressed with the inclusion of the title song from the 1993 film Robin Hood: Men in Tights, a camp parody of the many different versions of the Robin Hood legend that have appeared through the years.
The regular Hastings comedy duo of Tim McArthur, as Dame Dotty Longbottom, and Ben Watson, as Will Scarlett, work well together, and do the best possible job with a script that could do with being funnier. They both manage to get huge amounts of audience interaction, but they are not helped with many jokes appearing very tame and lacking the “edge” that would keep the adults engaged as much as the children.
During the performance I am attending there are issues with the scene changes, and with the sound, which don’t help the overall appearance of the show, but it does have some tremendous assets as well. Adam Strong’s performance as The Sheriff of Nottingham is one of the highlights of the show, as is the very athletic choreography which is delivered with split second precision, particularly by the boys who appear in Little Joan’s dream sequence, performed to the fabulous When Your Good to Mama from Chicago.
Robin Hood is a great story to use as a pantomime as there is a huge amount of freedom to add or delete characters, and to include set pieces that can give a pantomime a real “wow factor”. Sadly it is the “wow” that is missing in this production. It is thoroughly entertaining as it is, but not very memorable and, when you are relying on your audience returning year after year, making the pantomime memorable would really help.
*** Three Stars