Out of the many pantomimes I have been to, I had never seen a version of Hansel & Gretel before. However, I had previously sampled Smile Musical Youth Theatre and many scripts by the talented writer, Joe Logan and knew I was in for a treat. It had been a trying day, but all the woes inflicted on myself were banished after two hours of comedy, great song, acting and dance.

The classic Brother’s Grimm tale of Hansel & Gretel is a simple one. Kids get lost in the forest and end up in a witch’s gingerbread house, or something on those lines. So, to make that into a full show required many sub-plots, a fact which was even cleverly used as a line in the script. Now, we have the heroes preparing for the Ultimate German Bake Off (topical) while the cast contend with not only the Wicked Witch of the Woods, but an evil stepmother to the twins in Brunhilda, who turns out to be the witch’s sister. Therefore, throw in a wonderful OTT dame, a couple of villainous stooges, an unlikely hero amongst others, and the plot certainly thickens.

Excellent Front of House selling programmes, raffle tickets (I didn’t win), hot and cold drinks, snacks, and gifts. Nice to see so much effort and ingenuity to make money to bolster funds. Directed and choreographed by Chair of Smile, Joe Logan, Hansel & Gretel ticked every box and was helped by the excellent musical direction and vocal coaching of Emily Beaman and Sarah Jennings, respectively. I must also commend the wonderful costumes, under the control of Suzanne Harris, especially those worn by Dame Fanny Knickerbocker.

Heading a cast of 30 we had Freddie Perry (Hansel) and Andgelle Batchelor-Foster (Gretel) who combined well, especially during I Can’t Lose You. Then, in the role of the previously mentioned Dame Fanny, we had Josh Mills, who owned this unique type of role which was handled with respect in our age of greater trans awareness. Good interaction with the audience and even more so from Taylor Simner as Otto. It takes great confidence to hold the audience, and both were on top form.

Also flying solo at the top of the show was Isobel Landa who was superb as Willow, the Spirit of the Wood. Equally so, the impressive Ruby Blount. Not the first time I have seen Ruby in panto and excellent as always portraying Brunhilda. I particularly loved the character leading Little Girls. This was not the Annie stage version, but the one used in the 2014 film which I have preferred since first hearing it.

This show had a plethora of baddies and none more so than the Witch of the Wood for which Molly Bastable was outstanding. I also thought the combination with her two comic stooges worked well, and Erika Steventon (Jobs) and Erin Grehan (Worth) added comic moments while also combining well with Bastable in my favourite number of the night, Candy Store.

Other good song leads came from Sam Broomhall-Tighe (Christophe) in Waving Through a Window, Thomas Bastable (Mayor Manfred) with The Final Countdown and Tegan Lynch (Paula Dollywood) for Jolene. Finally, another character I took a shine to was Wilma the Weasel (who may or may not be a stoat) played by Grace Glover. She led a good rendition of The Wild Wonders with Charlie McRobert as Frank the Fox.

Other named characters were Klaus (Max Ridley) and (Anna) Ezme-Jean Forbes-Moore, playing alongside a strong ensemble. These were Katelyn Harper, Cat Allsop, Evie-May Smith, Tobias Tart, Annabelle Bevington-King, Hannah Allsop, Macy O’Donoghue, Amelia Perry, Kyra Jepson, Georgia Haynes, Isabella Fitzpatrick, Makena Straker-Sharpe, Isla Smith, and Libby Sandle. Please tell me if I have mistakenly missed anyone.

This was a wonderful and thoroughly enjoyable show; thank you so much for the invite. Smile return at the end of May, this time to The Dormiston Mill Theatre where they will perform Jesus Christ Superstar. I recommend you check them out.

Cheers.

Antony N Britt.

*Photos courtesy of Smile Musical Youth Theatre.