At the Derby Arena on the 9th of December, Owen from FMB Radio and Tristan from Mojatu Derby went to see the pantomime “Mother Goose” written by Morgan Brind.
We were kindly invited to see the performance by Derby Arena, and below you can find the respective reviews from our team.
This was actually my first ever time watching a Derby pantomime and let me say I was very surprised with everyone who was involved in the show! It surpassed my expectations! And the Arena was an absolutely stunning venue to hold events.
I was very impressed with Morgan Brind because he wasn’t just an actor, he was the writer and set designer for the pantomime and produced wicked sets for the show. It was honestly so magical!
They had a LIVE band in the panto, they kept myself and the crowd elated throughout the performance and they couldn’t have done it without the incredible Musical Director Andy Booth! A special shout out to the band members is definitely needed, Great Job! Corrina Etherington, Natalie Light and John Clark.
The Sound was composed by James Cook. I noticed there were quite a few problems with the sound as there were some missed mic cues. Unfortunately the microphone packs wires were cracking a lot, and due to this I was struggling to hear the actors lines and this was making me think maybe the batteries were going flat.
I felt like the Ensemble wasn’t on as much as we expected, however, they all did a cracking job and the energy they brought onto the stage was just perfect. They couldn’t do the show without the Scrambled Eggs team: Ewan MacCall, Amber Quach, Milly Adams, Maria McGinty, Masie Gore, Autumn Quach, Henry Fredinando and finally Olivia Junior - Fitzpatrick.
Nicola Martinus-Smith who was played as Rosemary who was good friends with Benedict as well as Baron Wateland’s daughter however, the vocal and energy she brought onto the stage were just spot on and we really enjoyed ourselves watching her going along throughout the show!
Roddy Peters who play as baron Wasteland, who is such a hero where he trying to use his magic spells to make happy ending show to make everyone to be happy again ever after as he tries to get rid of the baddee to make Mother Goose to understand that she was in wrong and ask her to bring back the lovely Shelly after Mother Goose got rid of her.
I was really looking forward to seeing Todd Boyce from Coronation Street who was playing as Demon Vanity and to be honest he was a classic and he was so mean with the Mother Goose but tell you what by the end of it he was a very kind and gentle person to the storyteller.
Kristian Cunningham who is playing as Benedict, he was such the funniest character that we have ever seen, and we thought he was so good with children and families plus he is such an entertainer. Also, he knew how to make people's night so fun and funny because he was an expert to show people how it can be done to make your night as magical fairy tale story of Mother Goose.
Djalenga Scott who was played by Fairy Charity was fabulous. The vocals she had were outstanding!
My favourite part of the show was when the cutest Shelly Bassey who were played by Ben Tanner came onto the stage looking so pretty but Shelly design were just so clever because there was a moment when mother goose wanted to sell Shelly, but she was acting like funny and the skills she has were spot on and the big golden egg came out and had every laughter with tears. However, she was trying to make Mother Goose feel sorry for her.
Mark Chatterton was a great director by putting on such magical pantos and we were so pleased to see this spectator pantomime that I have ever seen.
Little Wolf Entertainment knows how to make pantomime so special and enjoyable as they hired a great writer as well as making a great decision what to put on at the Derby Arena.
Matthew Wesley who did a fantastic job with his choreography moves and he made sure that everyone had the energy and showed their dance moves and we could not keep up as they all were clever enough to be in the spotlight showing their awesome moves. Such a great job!
What can I say about Lighting? The answer is that it was a very magical moment because you could see everything especially when the set is so sparkly, and they could have not done it without a professional lighting designer which was designed by David Phillips.
Massive Congratulations to all the cast and crew for putting on an incredible show!!
The venue, Derby Arena is easily accessible, with people onsight ready to assist you in finding your way to your seat, to find beverages or even find your way to the bathroom!
The atmosphere was jolly in a festive fashion, with the crowd ready for some quality entertainment. I can eagerly say we weren’t disappointed, we were infatuated with the great performance, the actors really engaged with the audience well and made everyone chuckle!
Mother Goose, or Gerty (played by Morgan Brind) as she was referred to by other cast members really delivered with the jokes and overall performance, I’d say that Gerty & Benedict were the shining stars of the performance, with Lucifer Vanity- played by Coronation street star Todd Boyce taking all the Boo’s as the Villain throughout the night! The backing choreography was entertaining and really did it’s justice, and really added to the show!
The sound was really good throughout the night, with the actors projection and clarity on key! And with only a few hiccups within the whole performance,Maybe only 3 individual crackles from the mics or sound system. - Not enough to complain though nonetheless!
They had a live band in the panto, they kept me and the crowd boogieing throughout the performance, they couldn’t have done it without the incredible Musical Director Andy Booth! A special shout out to the band members is certainly needed, Great Job! Corrina Etherington, Natalie Light and John Clark.
The sets were really appealing for the audience, covered in sparkles and eye-catching colours, it looked like a lot of effort and time was spent making the costumes! (especially for the amazing Mother Goose who had a couple snazzy pieces to say the least, at least 5 different costumes!) -And the usage of the props in the 2nd half of the performance was great, as the children in the crowd went wild!
The script was written really well and made the whole performance fly by,in the best way, when leaving the arena the feeling stayed with us. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for some wholesome entertainment.
Altogether, we would rate this production 5 stars.
Owen Brindley & Tristan Best
Featured image courtesy of Derby Arena’s Press Office. Image has been cropped and edited. Permission granted to be used.
In article images courtesy of Derby Arena’s Press Office. Image has been cropped. Permission granted to be used.
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