Rumpelstiltskin (Archive)

A Pantomime By Cath Staton, Mark Frampton, Brenda West and Jill Mowlam

January 1998

Rumpelstiltskin the evil goblin helps the young Fleur to spin straw into gold, while Dame Dinah Roddick searches for new ingredients for the contents of her beauty salon.

Cast

Rumpelstiltskin Graham Kerr
Rotten Rupert Mark Frampton
King Casper the Cruel Barry West
Max the Woodcutter Dan Hawkins
Fleur, the Miller’s Daughter Ruth West
Max’s Stepmother Chris Squire
Dame Dinah Roddick Iain MacPherson
Arfur Brick Phil Kohler
Ivor Trowel Guy Bishop
Marlene Chris Ward
Pete Bogg Mike Calvert
The Goblin King John Staton
Gherkin – a goblin Louise Garner
Lurkin – a goblin Lauren Eales
Goblin Minstrel Ken Beer
Beauty Spot Clients Brenda West, Cath Staton & Ruth West

Crew

Producer Cath Staton
Co-producer Ruth Staton
Stage Manager Jo Wylderidge
Set Design George Muller/Jo Wylderidge
Set Construction Members of the Group
Sound Paul West
Lighting Ian Squire
Props Christine Sutton, Christopher Sutton, Mike Crawshaw, Ian Crawshaw
Music Jenny Smith
Prompt Jill Mowlam
Makeup Brenda West
House Managers Janet MacNeill/Karen MacPherson
Kitchen Lisa Donelan & Co.
Tickets Ken Beer
Publicity Joseph Hughes

Review

From the Leamington Courier:

A great deal of work obviously has been put into this amateur production and this shows in the slickness of many of the numbers and the timing of the characters entering and exiting the stage. The sets are simple yet all the more effective for that, especially the forest scene.

The characters are easily labelled by both children and adults, although both Max the Woodcutter (and Dan Hawkins) and the Miller’s daughter (Ruth West) have more complex aspects to their characters who make them more lifelike and believable. Mark Frampton is particularly noteworthy as Rotten Rupert, working hard with accents, attitude and expressions to make a very endearing baddie.

He will need a very large bottle of witch hazel for his shoulders after being set upon repeatably by Graham Kerr – on the left hand side in the first half, right hand in the second.

Who had to sit through the hours of complicated dialogue as Chris Ward learned her lines for the first half as Marlene, Dame Dinah’s assistant? A deafening experience, which was cleverly expressed. Chris Squire is well cast as Max’s stepmother.

The panto has been written by members of the cast and although slightly thin in places it flows remarkably well with the storyline beng pleasantly easy to follow and many sections of the dialogue being very funny to listen to with enough double entendres to satisfy all ages.

The songs are mostly familiar tunes with some clever alterations to the words. Perhaps the funniest is the Goblin Minstrel played by Ken Beer – no mean feat to be that disharmonious!

Altogether it is a pantomime which both children and adults should go to for a pleasant night out.

The Cubbington Players are providing value for money and maintaining a good standard with this performance of Rumpelstiltskin, adding to the long history of Cubbington pantomimes.