“RAPUNZEL, RAPUNZEL, LET DOWN YOUR HAIR…”
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PUBLICITY PHOTOS
PUBLICITY VIDEO
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PRODUCTION PHOTOS
AUDIENCE COMMENTS
“Definitely one of the best I have ever seen. ❤️”
“It was AMAZING my favourite performance to date. Well done to you & the rest of the cast. Was better than half of the professional pantos.”
“Well done the entire cast at Dryburn, strength in depth so all the scenes were really enjoyable. Not often the case in amateur panto - really well done. Dance scenes were lively and technical side was great, could hear everything and the lighting was bright and lively. Costumes looked good and the scene changes were quick and quiet. Great job all round.”
“Was a blast watching all you guys on stage! Exellent show as always!”
“What a OUTSTANDING performance on Friday night, so lively well preformed and funny, well done to everyone in Dryburn Theatrical Workshop from front of house to backstage and well done TOM Whalley for writing such and outstanding pantomime. We all had a really fantastic night . Well done to everyone and thank you for giving me my family and friends such a wonderful evening we can't wait for Joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat in June.”
“Absolutely loved it! Still laughing thinking back to it! 😂”
“Best show yet!! 😍”
“Congratulations to all of you on such an amazing show week! You could tell just how much fun you were having on stage and I'm glad all your hard work paid off. To echo what Michelle said, at points it really was like watching a professional production. Huge well done from me.”
“I saw the panto yesterday and thought it was excellent. I particularly enjoyed Hook and Mrs Starkey. If Barry from Stanley wasn’t a plant he was a great sport. A whole lot of fun thanks.”
“That was great! Cracking night out - when's the next one? We'll definitely come up again (from Manchester).”
“Brilliant show laughter from start to finish roll on the next one.”
“Peter Pan was spectacular, we have been to a lot of Panto’s over the year and it was by far one of the best, and that includes all the professional productions. It was hilarious and kept everyone entertained throughout. Actors were all perfectly cast and you could tell how much practice everyone put in. The dancing was amazing and refreshing to see different moves for each dance, not just the same dance to different music. Really good show and everyone should be proud of themselves.”
“Hilarious time at the Dryburn Panto! Well done to all! Peter nearly got up to do a bow with you all. Side splitting writing as always from our lovely Tom Whalley.”
“Loved every minute.... Tinker Bell had our 3 year old enthralled from the start ..... so well written and performed .... Hook was excellent .....just bad enough without being scarey. We loved Peter Pan too. Everyone did great..... but have to say Nicholas Cunliffe as Michael Darling stole the show ...... hoping to see some recognition in the Noda awards for this show.”
“It was brilliant. We all thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon with you all! Awesome!!!”
“It was a brilliant show, we thoroughly enjoyed it. Well done all.”
“Fantastic performance by all the cast. Well worth going to see. Been going there for years now with our grandchildren.”
“Fantastic show! I laughed and laughed. Highly recommended 😄”
“It truly was amazing.”
“Absolutely brilliant cannot wait for the next one. Well Done everyone.”
“What a wonderful show! Each and every member of the cast and crew should be so so proud.”
“Fantastic night last night, full of fun and laughs Well done everyone.”
“Amazing performance, absolutely loved it. 🤩”
“Great show. Well done to the cast and crew. Kids had a great night. Definitely be back next year.”
“I loved it! Will definitely be at future shows by DTW! Brilliant night out!”
“Loved it so much. You're all wonderful. Thanks and see yall at the next one!”
“Really enjoyed it. Better than some London pantos I've seen!”
PROGRAMME
NODA REPORT
Panto season continued with a two-panto day for me – with two versions of “Rapunzel” on the same day! The first being a trip to Dryburn Theatrical Workshop to see Tom Whalley Pantomimes version of Rapunzel, a twist on the traditional fairy tale story. This was a brand-new release from Tom’s extensive catalogue, the first time performed in the north-east, and personally I was very much looking forward to it. Despite not necessarily being the biggest pantomime fan, Tom’s scripts are really clever and have a knack for binging out the best topical humour we expect from pantomimes. In addition to that are the utter spectacles that Dryburn perform consistently. You can guarantee a quality performance from them no matter what they undertake to do.
I loved the hilarity from Gerald the Herald played by Stephen Shield. Likely a role developed by director Michelle Coulson, his live action trumpeting of various recognisable tunes in key moments were just timed perfectly and he had me in stitches laughing, often just with a tune and an eyebrow raise. The “silly” esq character was brought to us expertly by Joe Coulson who can always be expected to deliver and kept the pace of the performance flowing. I did write down that I found Pascal/Olaf hilarious! Lee Passmoor played Fanny follicle the resident hairdresser and dame of the show, with fabulous costume hair and makeup. Emma Coulson played the Princess Rapunzel, trapped in her tower with a more modern take on the traditional princess role who can really do serious damage with a frying pan, with Phil Stabler playing her dashing Prince Ryder. Phil Martin played King Bouffant of the every changing hairstyle very well with the brilliant Claire Archer playing Fairy Dandruff with a beautiful sincerity in the silliness. Erin Boyle played the traditional baddie in Mother Gothel incredibly, admittedly I do really enjoy watching Erin on stage generally but playing a baddy suits her – along with the dark brown wig!
There was a large ensemble all having fun and doing what Dryburn does best in entertaining their audiences, with choreography provided by Rebecca Scott. Lots of lovely smiling faces were seen and everyone looked like they were having a blast. Traditional pantomime guidelines were present with the goodie entering stage right, the baddy on stage left and a wonderful dame with Lee. There was great audience interaction, fabulous shout outs, a million blonde wigs and giant nits! What more could you want?!
The hair salon itself was very cleverly done and praise to Phil who appeared to have shaved his head for the show! There was a lantern scene delivered to “You Will Be Found” which was utterly gorgeous and provided a lovely sincere moment in the otherwise silly pantomime world. Really beautifully lit, with a star cloth, handheld lanterns, atmospheric lighting and delivered softly, well done to all especially Hi-Lights Theatre Services for expert delivery as always.
I genuinely enjoyed myself and I’m so sorry to the cast for having to shoot straight off afterwards but I had 90 minutes to get all the way over to Bishop Auckland for my 2nd Rapunzel instalment of the day. Well done to you all!
Author: Helen Abraham