Scott Harrington reviews Robinson Crusoe at The Market Theatre in Ledbury
As a child I would watch two pantomimes at Christmas time. The first pantomime was always a school trip to a local amateur dramatics production, the second was on Christmas Eve with family to a larger professional pantomime. I enjoyed both productions equally despite their different sizes and budgets. This just shows that a good panto can come from anywhere with the same efforts and dedication from a good creative team.
Ledbury Amateur Dramatics Society’s 2024 production of “Robinson Crusoe & the Pirates” is a lot of fun for all the family to enjoy. While the plot is just your typical buried treasure map adventure, the show kept the audience engaged with some colourful characters, plenty of slapstick and audience participation, plus a fantastic ensemble of dancers, some very young but with lots of confidence. The songs had a decent contrast of music both old and new and very fitting for the story, including rewritten lyrics from some musical theatre classics, all performed superbly by a live band.
The sets were constructed and painted by the group members and very nicely done. The basic simplicity of the sets really did lend themselves for very swift scene changes, not keeping the audience waiting too long.
I had never been to the Market Theatre in Ledbury before, but I think it was a very nice little theatre with friendly staff and refreshments at very competitive prices. The staff were also kind enough to assist me with car parking facilities. The main auditorium was very small, but the further away you were sat from the stage, the seats became more elevated, allowing everyone to get a decent view and value for money.
For a local drama group the show had quite a long run from the 18th to the 28th of January. This was perhaps due to the venue being small, allowing plenty of people to get a chance to watch the show.
During the song sheet part towards the finale, where the comic would typically have roughly 4 children from the audience come on stage to sing a song, “Robinson Crusoe & the pirates” had 14 children on stage when I came to watch, though it seemed health and safety was taken very seriously.
"I thoroughly adored the wholesome experience of this pantomime"
Katisha Harris stole the show as “Nutty Nick”, she is a natural comic and a hilarious improviser, bouncing off her co-star Jon Gill as “Margarita Jucilita” (the dame)
Sophie Watkins as the titled character “Robinson Crusoe” also did a great performance alongside female lead “Juanita” played by Erin Hayter. Although it was quite a while until we were properly introduced to the main character “Crusoe”. Unlike professional theatre where the cast have only gotten to know each other in rehearsals, the members of Ledbury Amateur Dramatics Society have possibly known each other for many years in the group, giving them a very natural chemistry.
I also really enjoyed Nicola Garrity as “Hocus Pocus”, Deb West as “Mumbo Jumbo”, Ripley Sheppard as “Friday” and Ruby Phillips as “Poll” who were all ensemble members in act 1, and then showcased in their excellent principal roles for act 2.
I’m not sure if the script was hired or written by a member of the group, but I did feel the running time went on a little bit too long, for instance act 1 was an hour and a half. I wasn’t too sure if there was going to be an interval or not. I also think some of the scenes could have benefited by using more audio sound effects just to up the humour, as some scenes felt a little slow and quiet.
Having been a member of local drama groups myself, I thought the show was a great way to persuade children to join the family atmosphere of Ledbury Amateur Dramatics Society and make lots of lovely friends.
I thoroughly adored the wholesome experience of this pantomime, with Ledbury’s friendly local community and venue. Also, a big thank you to Ellie Scanlan for letting me write this review. Overall, I would certainly recommend “Robinson Crusoe & the Pirates” to people of all ages to enjoy!
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Scott Harrington is a 26 year old actor, scriptwriter, avid theatre goer and now a ‘young reviewer’. He often enjoys attending stand up comedy gigs, musical theatre productions and Christmas pantomimes. In 2024 Scott will be directing a production of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at The Henrician theatre in Evesham, Worcestershire.
Scott can be found on X at @Scottharringto9
