A BRAND NEW PANTOMIME was terrifically performed by the Alvechurch Dramatic Society at the Town Hall this weekend in its world premier.
The original, Sinbad the Sailor and the Curse of Zard, had plenty of audience participation with cheers, clapping, boos and hisses and singing aplenty.
Starting with a sailor who gets whisked away to another land by a Genie in a bottle – the show follows Sinbad, played by Jo Bestwick, on a journey to save Raisin, played by Leah Yendell, who eventually saves herself in an act of empowerment.
Alan Clarke rose to the challenge of playing the villain Jaffa, as he attempted to trick his half brother the Sultan, played by Keith Johnson, by marrying his daughter and taking all of the Sultan’s land.
He strutted around the stage, extracting plenty of boos from the audience with his evil presence and two guards who delivered funny one-liners – Lofy and Shorty were played by Lyn Parkin and Bev Lord.
The character to get the most laughs was Dame Delilah, played by Chris Davies, as he/she swanned the stage in brightly coloured frocks – just like a Dame.
Likewise, Susan Resuggan put in a top performance as Queenie, the magical Genie, dressed in sparkle from head to toe, she saved the day for Sinbad over and over with three wishes.
Weenie, the little Genie performed by Farrah Keating added to the ending of the show, with a hint of attitude she must have got from her aunt Queenie.
Dilhi and Dalhi were the comics, performed by Samuel Perry and Adam Brown – the pair worked incredibly well together and the audience were roaring when they appeared on stage.
Three sirens, Medusa, Sedusa and Redusa performed their first song down the isle of the audience, making guests jump off their seats, the evil queens were performed by Sarah Taylor, Gail Rogers and Jacky Tysall – they too received hisses and boos due to their excellent performances as villains.
Raisin’s mother, Currant, performed by Emily Waller went on to figured out how to make Mustafa’s inventions work with a ‘woman’s touch’.
Mustafa, played by Jon Oseland, was the Dame’s ‘inventor’ brother whose two characters intertwined perfectly to create the pantomime comedy.
Dim Li and Slo Li, played by Maura Williams and Naomi Yendell were (as their names suggest) the ditsy cousins who joined the team on their adventures across the seas and over the mountains.
The rest of the cast were equally amazing and the performance would not have been nearly as good without them – Vizier, played by Keith Williams, Sherry, played by Myfanwy Griffiths, Pugwash played by Ges Taylor and Cyclopse Guard by Steve Siddle.
A big shout out to the music by Paul Chamberlain on Guitar, Dave Howard on Bass, and Keith Yendell on Melodeon.
Overall, it was an amazing performance and I will certainly be returning next year!
