Theatre Review: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at Pilton Community College
Pilton Community College: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
I wasn't surprised to see snow last night at the first night of a three night run of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at Pilton Community College in Barnstaple.
A snow machine was one of several special theatrical effects used in this year's school production of the well known Narnia story, directed by Head of Drama Lorraine Clements. Some clever back projection of scenery and stage fog enhanced the wintery (but never Christmassy) scenes.
There were opportunities for Pilton pupils from all performing arts disciplines to display their talents with actors, dancers, singers and musicians taking part; not to mention the technical and behind the scenes work.
There were three sets of Pevensey children played by a total of twelve young actors from Pilton Community College and we were warned at the start (by one of the Susans) that we may get a little confused. However, the familiar story with some strong performances from lead characters, nifty scene changes and song and dance intervals kept our attention throughout.
There were some outstanding performances namely from Callum Sollis (Edmund in Act 1) who, with the largest speaking part by far, was word perfect with a confident physical stage presence. Similarly the first Lucy (Olivia Gwaspari) was captivating and professional. Brad Marchant Brook's Aslan was fabulously regal and I loved Tabitha Wilkinson as a very convincing Maugrim the wolf. My favourite character by far though was the charismatic Jacob Heard as Mr Tumnus. He played with a sweetness and charm which could not fail to draw empathy from the audience.
A real treat for me were the live musical accompaniment by Mrs Lang's musicians and lovely solo singing performances from Lewis Budd (Father Christmas) and Eve Lincoln (speaking Centaur).
A great night of entertainment, well done to all.
Amanda McCormack 2/2/12
photo: Michael Elton Photography
MORE THEATRE NEWS ...
A snow machine was one of several special theatrical effects used in this year's school production of the well known Narnia story, directed by Head of Drama Lorraine Clements. Some clever back projection of scenery and stage fog enhanced the wintery (but never Christmassy) scenes.
There were opportunities for Pilton pupils from all performing arts disciplines to display their talents with actors, dancers, singers and musicians taking part; not to mention the technical and behind the scenes work.
There were three sets of Pevensey children played by a total of twelve young actors from Pilton Community College and we were warned at the start (by one of the Susans) that we may get a little confused. However, the familiar story with some strong performances from lead characters, nifty scene changes and song and dance intervals kept our attention throughout.
There were some outstanding performances namely from Callum Sollis (Edmund in Act 1) who, with the largest speaking part by far, was word perfect with a confident physical stage presence. Similarly the first Lucy (Olivia Gwaspari) was captivating and professional. Brad Marchant Brook's Aslan was fabulously regal and I loved Tabitha Wilkinson as a very convincing Maugrim the wolf. My favourite character by far though was the charismatic Jacob Heard as Mr Tumnus. He played with a sweetness and charm which could not fail to draw empathy from the audience.
A real treat for me were the live musical accompaniment by Mrs Lang's musicians and lovely solo singing performances from Lewis Budd (Father Christmas) and Eve Lincoln (speaking Centaur).
A great night of entertainment, well done to all.
Amanda McCormack 2/2/12
photo: Michael Elton Photography
MORE THEATRE NEWS ...
