Robin Hood. Loughborough Town Hall, Leicestershire.
Robin Hood
Loughborough Town Hall, Leicestershire. ★★★★★
Loughborough Town Hall's panto is up there as one of the most recognized and popular productions in Leicestershire. Heading to the local theatre to watch a pantomime during Christmas time becomes a tradition in family festivities, and it definitely gets me in the mood. Previous pantomimes at the theatre have produced record breaking and 5-star smash hits. So there are big expectations for their latest production of Robin Hood to follow suit and boy it's a goodun!
Travelling to the heart of magical Sherwood Forest, where the men wear tights and the women wear the trousers. King Richard is in Europe negotiating a trade deal and the wicked Sheriff of Nottingham is hatching a plan that will see him take the throne. He plans to dispose of both his niece and nephew to inherit a fortune and steal the crown for himself. It's all down to Robin Hood, Marian, The Merry Men and the gang to stop him in his tracks.
Little Wolf Entertainment have created a well-constructed script that brings a Midlands story to life as well as packing in enough jokes, outrageous costumes and something that will appeal even to the youngest of audience members. The production is wonderful, with every little detail thought about to create the perfect pantomime.
The choreography was enough to accompany the pantomime script, with local choreographer Danielle Stanley creating routines fit for the young chorus to work with confidentially.
The cast is of high quality and the standard of performance is next to none, from the singing vocals to the characters they are playing. Collectively the leading cast put on a great night of entertainment, suitable to get you in the Christmas spirit.
Nanny Nora Nightnurse (James Peake) knew how to command the adult audience with her humor and jokes. Her costumes were fit for a ball and you were astonished by how extravagant they were. Baddie, Sheriff of Nottingham (Lawrence Boothman) took on the task of being very wicked but also very funny, extremely well. Big applause particularly to Tim Phelps who had the mammoth task of switching between the various roles of Merry Man, without delay and with very funny consequences. He definitely deserves a good lie down after every show. Needless to say the rest of the cast were astounding!
Despite never seeing this story come to life on the stage as a pantomime, it was fitting and worked well. The Loughborough Town Hall embraces all of the traditional pantomime traditions such as incorporating song, dance, slapstick, in-jokes, audience participation and mild innuendo to a standard that really can't be missed. My boyfriend particularly enjoyed the comedic elements of the panto and couldn't stop noting how hilarious it was!
A big round of applause for our team Chesnut young chorus who were very professional on stage and worked well with the leading cast throughout the performance.
You can see the pantomime Robin Hood at Loughborough Town Hall until 07 January 2018.
*complimentary ticket in return for an honest review of the pantomime.