Silchester Players

Something to get your teeth into

SILCHESTER PLAYERS: 'DRACULA THE PANTO', at Silchester Village Hall, on Friday, January 23, Saturday, January 24, Friday, January 30, and Saturday, January 31

The Silchester Players brought a Gothic twist to the pantomime season with their latest production Dracula the Panto.

Jim Sperinck's lively script provided ample opportunity for the group to display their dramatic and dancing talents, under the strong guidance of director Sarah Oliver. Though the pace was a little slow at times, the performance was polished and highly enjoyable.

The story offers plenty of excitement and mayhem, as Count Dracula sends his henchman Boris down to the neighbouring village to kidnap Sonia (Erin Kirby), to add her to his harem.

But thanks to the intervention of Fairy Garlic (Caroline Norton) and principal boy Richard (confidently played by the tuneful Emma Williams), Dracula ends up with a whole heap of trouble instead.

At the centre of the cast, Ian Hartwell gave an excellent performance as the dame, Rosie Glow, relating easily to the audience and providing excellent comic continuity between the scenes.

He was well-supported by the comic double act of Tony Oliver and Brian Gillett as Steak and Kidney, two very unlikely chefs at the Flying Mouse Inn, while Andy Ballingal, as the young Jack, provided further lively audience participation.

Kevin Belcher, in the title role, made a deliciously evil Count, dominating the stage with his eerie laughter. Alan Moorhouse was nicely cast as his reluctant sidekick Boris, and Ellie Cullen and Jo Nobbs were suitably creepy as Dracula's ghostly brides.

The action was liberally peppered with musical chorus numbers directed by musical director Stephen Oliver (who also wrote some of the pieces), and smoothly choreographed by Trevor Dobson and Sarah Oliver.

It was refreshing to see so many smiling faces among the junior chorus, and it was clear that everyone was having a great time as they transformed themselves from townsfolk to skeletons to teddybears and back again.

There were some good pieces for the principals too, such as their hilariously-chaotic variation of If I were not upon the stage.

As usual, Silchester Players paid great attention to every detail of the production.

Tim Oliver's atmospheric lighting deserves a special mention, as does Kevin Belcher's fine sets.

Dracula the Panto continues this weekend - it's well worth the trip.

Guess whodunnit?

SILCHESTER PLAYERS: 'TIPTOE THROUGH THE TOMBSTONES', at Silchester Village Hall on Friday, May 14, Saturday, May 15, Friday, May 21 and Saturday, May 22

Following the death of an elderly relative, members of the Tomb family are invited back to the ancestral home by the family solicitor. A familiar storyline, but the Tombs are no ordinary family but highly skilled assassins and a sinister bunch. Within minutes the solicitor has disappeared without trace, and over the next couple of hours more corpses pile up than in an episode of Midsomer Murders.

Much of the comedy in Norman Robbins' hilarious thriller stems from the rich variety of characters - from the Tombs themselves to the effeminate cleaner Vernon Prewitt and Larry Lewis, a children's entertainer who turns up at the house after crashing his car in the fog. The production was polished in every sense, but producer Tim Oliver deserves special praise for matching his cast so successfully with the characters.

Brian Gillett portrayed Prewitt with camp perfection, relishing the numerous innuendos. Keith Graham provided a suitably crusty cameo as the elderly solicitor Crayle, while Sarah Oliver settled comfortably into the role of the prim (though not so proper) secretary Zoe. Jo Nobbs came across well as the hapless maid Edna, while Alan Moorhouse played the bumbling Larry with considerable comic flare.

The complex relationships between the Tombs were well handled by the cast. Caroline Norton was deliciously sinister as Octavia, an ageing medium with deadly hairpins. Chris Horton's Henrietta was suitably strong and domineering, and contrasted well with John Coffin's Augustus, whose attempts to be head of the household were undermined by his female relations. Lyn Davies gave a finely understated performance as Athene, and Helen Chesterman was brilliantly excruciating as the brash Fabia.

Atmospheric music and Kevin Belcher's well-constructed set, complete with a moving bookcase opening into a secret corridor, rounded off an excellent production. The play continues this week, and is well worth the trip - I bet you won't guess who did it!

It?s the way they tell ?em

SILCHESTER PLAYERS: OLD TIME MUSIC HALL, on Friday, October 15, Saturday, October 16, Friday, October 22 and Saturday, October 23

Silchester Village Hall was transformed into a ?cavern of conviviality? last week, as the resident players presented their Old Time Musical Hall, directed by Stephen and Beryl Oliver.

Music Hall, like pantomime, is one of those peculiarly British theatrical traditions.  First and foremost, it relies heavily on audience rapport and participation, and for this you need a good strong chairman with an engaging personality.  Ian Hartwell settled easily into this role, with his customary selection of hyperbolic introductions to the various artists and some well chosen one-liners.

The Ladies of the Chorus opened and closed each half of the show with colourful costumes and tight choreography by Trevor Dobson and Sarah Oliver, encouraging the audience to join in with classic favourites such as All The Nice Girls Love A Sailor and Don?t Dilly Dally On The Way.

The programme included a range of comic scenes and individuals songs ? some familiar and some less so.  The first act opened with a hilarious rendering of There?s A Little Yellow Idol, with the hapless reciter (Brian Gillett) constantly interrupted by two military gentlemen in the audience (Keith Graham and John Coffin) who had their own spin on the story.

Keith also showed his comic talents (along with Mandy Larby, Lyn Davies, and Caroline Norton) in Bacchanalia, a sobering tale about the perils of home-made wine, while Brian Gillett teamed up with Kevin Belcher and Midge Bancroft to give us a very different perspective on marriage, through the eyes of a preying mantis.

Sarah Oliver was in fine voice with a delightful little number entitled Did Your First Wife Ever Do That?, while Tony Oliver gave a hearty performance of the Music Hall favourite If It Wasn?t For The Houses In Between and Flanders and Swann?s little gem Have Some Madeira M?dear.

Kevin Belcher and Jill Hutchins both showed their versatility in a number of solo items ? Kevin as a robotic circus act with a saucy monologue, and Jill as a superannuated fairy and an impressively flexible eastern dancer.  Janet Taylor also revealed a fine voice and excellent comic timing in The Heir?s Return and Stately As A Galleon.

No Music Hall is complete without a melodrama, and John Coffin, Nick Lock, Brian Gillett, and Jo Nobbs brought us The Drunkard's Dilemma ? with a shameless uncle, dark villain, damsel in distress and passing hero all eliciting the appropriate boos and cheers from the audience.

As usual at Silchester, the cast were clearly enjoying every minute, and their enthusiasm was infectious.  We all left with a smile on our face, and that?s what Old Time Music Hall is all about.