Babes in the Wood - Marloo Theatre

One of my favourite pieces of bitchy crit goes something like this: "There is nothing like a good Panto, and this was... nothing like a good Panto!" Unfortunately it is a line that has been able to be used all too frequently in Perth for a good many years. Imagine my surprise when I came out of "Babes in the Wood" and I COULDN'T use the line! This show was actually good! Despite what many people think Panto is very difficult style to pull off well, and while this show was far from perfect, it was definitely well over the line as far as enjoyability goes, which is the main requirement of Panto after all. The first question for the success of a Panto relies on two pieces of casting, the Dame and the Principal Boy, cast them well and you are half way there! And well cast these two roles were... [Note: no programmes opening night... I AM going to forget names!] What can I say about the casting of Rod Vermeij as Dame Delightful? Best. Dame. Ever! No, seriously, I have seen many dames in my time, and been them on more than one occasion, and Rod's portrayal was assured and well placed and HILARIOUS! All the time I was watching him, all I could think was, this is what Sir Ian McKellen's Dame must have been like - WELL DONE! Ashley Warner as the Principal Boy, Princess Lucinda (trust me, if you've seen this show you will agree that the princess IS the prinicpal boy role) was also a delight. Well handled, believable, looked good in the tights... From these two star performances the rest of the cast are evenly spread from "very well done" through to "the least said the better". But I don't have time [or a programme :-(] to go through them all. As I said at the beginning, it is not a perfect Panto, but it is thoroughly enjoyable, and very energetic, and far better than many Pantos I've seen recently. If you want an idea of how good Panto can be, you could do worse than checking this one out! Well done! Keep the energy up guys and you are on a winner!