‘Jack and the Beanstalk’

Press, 16 December 1985, Page 4

‘Jack and the Beanstalk’

“Jack and the Beanstalk” written and produced by Peter Roberts for the Christchurch Theatre Workshop at the Repertory Theatre. December 13 and 14. Running time: 2 Mi hours. Reviewed by Gerrit Bahlman. Frequently production teams fail to recognise the constraint of attention span of their young audiences, not to mention older Satrons. A promising leatrical experience can become a devastating trial similar in effect to battering one’s head against a wall and noticing how sweet the world seems when it stops. It is quite a compliment to the cast and crew of the Christchurch Theatre Workshop, that they sustained the interest of their audience and kept them thoroughly amused over a 2% hour performance span. The show had the elements of a variety show — wellknown melodies; strong chorus and solo singing; snappy dancing in various styles from ballet to tap; numerous stage effects and all the fun of audience participation. . An enormous scary giant delighted the youngsters Cries of “Are you scared Dad' - I’m not scared, Id use that man’s sword and cut his head off! echoed through the theatre as the expanded “Jack and the Beanstalk” tale. ' . . Peter Roberts’s version of the tale gave full scope to the under 21-year-old perfonrifrs from a variety of

dancing and performing groups based at the Arts Centre. All the old favourite characters from children’s stories were drawn into the plot. Alice the dancing cow — Daisy was presumably busy; Simple Simon — a helpful cockney lad but not all that quick on the uptake; Jill — the well known other half of Jack; the fairy Godmother from Cinderella who has been displaced by a younger more co-ordinated competitor and therefore available for Jack’s story; Princess Anastasia; Bill and Ben — definitely not flower E>t men; and a live Rhode land Red which failed to lay any kind of egg, let alone a golden one! The production was a showcase for the talents of the young cast. The usual climax of Jack’s adventures with the fall of the giant, was not the end of this version of the tale. The show became much more of a vaudeville performance as Simple Simon, (Barbie Roberts — a very talented and confident young performer), encouraged everyone to join in “One Finger One Thumb.” A promising duo entertained the king’s guests but the quality of microphones and speakers let them down. The choreographers, Kate Craig and Paula Sutcliffe, made the most of the opportunities. Some delightfully sharp tap dance sequences by the king’s guards and lovely moments of ballet such as the “cloud dance” in the land of the Giant showed the level of ability some surprisingly young •tipancers. A dance corps of

more than 20 dancers was cleverly employed. A live orchestra consisting of organ, piano, violins and percussion, musically directed by Bill Gilray, kept the pace going and gave substantial service for a small group of seven musicians. Chorus work by more than 40 singers filled the auditorium and the stage. A particuarly impressive performance was given by Donna Rees as Jack The pantomime tradition of a young woman playing the lead was accepted with alacrity by the youngsters but the high-heel shoes, stockings, miniskirt length tunic and eye shadow did offer some additional adult amusement. The Repertory is limited as a sound stage but Donna Rees impressed with her confident stage presence. Paula Swanson as Jack’s mother was another strong portrayal, as was Kate Craig as the doddery — sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t — very odd fairy godmother. The effort of all concerned with the production was obvious and impressive. Elaborate backdrops, costumes and stage effects testified to a very determined and committed company of performers and backstage workers. Aimed at children, the test of the production is their reaction. Both of my children (four and six years old), were delighted, wanted to see it again and barely noticed the time they had been coined to theatre seats. <