UK Theatre Network

Puss In Boots

The Customs House, South Shields

Despite the inclement weather conditions, a capacity crowd turned out to see ‘the little panto with the big heart’ at the Customs House in South Shields. It was evident that several inches of snow and freezing conditions were not going to deter these stoic South Tynesider’s from enjoying an evening of festive frolics and family fun. As Ray Spencer ironically observed in his address to the audience at the end of the performance, ‘we used to have a word for this – winter!’

This year, for the first time, the Customs House is presenting the tale of ‘Puss In Boots’. As usual, the cast is a mix of Customs House stalwarts and fresh new faces. This season sees Ray Spencer and Bob Stott mark their 35^th anniversary as a panto double-act – and their inimitable brand of slapstick comedy, ad-libbing and on-stage chemistry is as fresh and funny as ever. Undoubtedly, it is this perfect partnership that provides the bedrock of the Customs House pantomime, around which everything else is built.

Popular performers Peter Darrant and Graham Overton are also present in this year’s proceedings, whilst Lucy Rafton makes a welcome return for a third year and Afnan Iftikhar appears for his second panto at the South Tyneside venue. The newcomers are Alice Brown, Ryan Lynch and Craig Richardson.

The story revolves around Dame Dotty (Bob Stott) and her two sons, Tommy (Ray Spencer) and Much (Afnan Iftikhar), who are facing the threat of eviction from their mill by the evil Osborne the Ogre (Peter Darrant) and his two bungling henchmen Cammy (Craig Richardson) and Cleggy (Ryan Lynch), who are terrorising the town of Cooksonville. It’s up to kindly King Boris (Graham Overton) and Loreal the Enchantress (Alice Brown) – along with help from the audience, of course – to save the day and rescue Princess Cheryl (Lucy Rafton) from a fate worse than death.

Dame Dotty’s mill bakery may not be ‘rising’ to the challenge and bringing in the ‘bread’ but, yet again, the Customs House proves that it has the secret recipe for cooking-up a top-notch panto that is always ‘fresh’ and never ‘stale’. The ingredients are many and rich, including a sprinkling of satire, a pinch of pop music, a dash of double-entendre, and liberal amounts of madness and mayhem.

Once again the script has been penned by Ray Spencer and Graeme Thompson and it is absolutely first-class. With just the right amount of political satire, topical gags and near-the-knuckle jokes weaved into a traditional tale of good triumphing over evil and love conquering all, it succeeds in entertaining each and every member of the family, across all generations.

The production values of this seasonal spectacular are to be envied, too. Paul Shriek’s costumes – of which, I am informed, there are approximately 100! - are riotously colourful and, especially in the case of Dame Dotty’s, boldly outrageous and fabulously flamboyant. Geoff Ramm’s scenic design lovingly depicts focal points from around South Shields, further reinforcing the fact that this pantomime is based firmly in the South Tyneside locale, whilst James Henshaw’s lighting design bathes the stage in a kaleidoscope of colours that adds warmth and magic to the proceedings.

The performances are commendable across the board, with each member of the cast having their own opportunity to shine as an individual. However, certain actors warrant particular praise – most notably Ray Spencer, Bob Stott, Graham Overton, Craig Richardson and Ryan Lynch for their consummate comedic performances, Alice Brown, Lucy Rafton and Afnan Iftikhar for their vocal talents and Peter Darrant for his carefully crafted, camp as Christmas, mad and bad villain. Not forgetting the troupe of bonny babes from the South Tyneside Dance Workshop, choreographed by Jacqui West.

The Customs House has triumphed with a ‘purr-fect’ ‘meow-sical’ about a magical moggy. Don’t ‘paws’ for thought – book your tickets now and you’ll be as happy as the cat that got the cream!

Steve Burbridge.

‘Puss In Boots’ runs until Saturday 8  January 2011.