"Winter Draws On" by NUH Pantomime

Squire Performing Arts Centre.

This is a completely new piece of festive fare, written by NUH Pantomime Society members, so I knew nothing at all about the storyline prior to seeing this production. I love this sort of thing because you have no pre conceived ideas about the show and you can't bring any comparisons with you, because there are none, so I settled back in my seat to drink in a new story on stage.

The performance is just like a weather forecast; starting off with "Ice Ice Baby" but by the time the show ended we were "Walking On Sunshine".

The story follows Leif, the kitchen boy, as he tries to foil Winter’s dastardly plot to freeze Pantobergen, and all of his adventures, and new friends he meets along the way. And of course in the end there's a wedding, as well as a reunion, but I'll let you discover who marries who, and which couple are reunited.

Angie Springhall plays Hod, the Spirit Of Winter. the evil pone who wants to cover Pantobergen in frost and snow all year round, and all because he is sad over a certain something that happened years ago. Angie is a brilliant baddie and looks fantastic in Hod's costume.

Hatty Hunt-Blow plays Jack Frost, Hod's henchman, sent out to carry out the wishes of Hod. Hatty is a stage natural, revelling in the boos Jack receives from Sunday evening's mainly adult audience, knowing exactly what to do and say to get just the right reaction from the crowd. Great wig and costume to match.

Frost's sidekick Snowmen, Frosty and Chilly Billy, are played by Andie Gooding and Andrea West.

Teresa McDonnell plays Idun, The Spring Fairy; the good sprite in this story, and there to help Leif and his band of heroes along the way. I loved the crooked wand - I don't know why, but it just seemed to give Idun even more character. Once again, a lovely costume which just looked Spring-like, full of greenery. I would have liked to hear Teresa project her voice just a bit more, and apart from that minor note, I thought that this character was a novel and lovely character to play.

Playing the hero of this pantomime is Debbie Croves as Leif, who saves the country from eternal snow and frost. A nice confident character and performance and Debbie shows off a nice set of vocals.

Richeldis Malkin plays a wonderfully tempestuous Princess Astrid who gets her own way by joining Leif on his quest. The costumes for this show are really excellent and Princess Astrid's costume is royally ravishing and red.

Astrid's Governess is played by Liz Paling.

Helen Lester and Rhea Phillips play King Ragnar and Queen Gudrun, Astrid's parents who want to find a suitable suitor for their daughter.

We then have the three suitors for the Princess, Sir Rhosis, Sir Cumference and Sir Cuitous. Played by Martin Orrell - complete with hip flask - a nice example of medical humour with that one. Sunil Glenis, new to the NUH Panto Society, and a really confident addition and has great lung power - go and see why I say this! 

And the third Knight is played by Colin Mudd. Colin is the sort of person you need in a show like this as he is very quick to think on his feet and ad lib with humour. The campness that he brings to his character is another lovely addition to the story and reminded me slightly of Kenneth Williams in the Carry On films, expressions and all. A terrific trio.

Beth Eastham plays Musen the mouse, who has a forgetful habit of losing her tail several times; don't worry, it's all part of the story! Musen is also part of Leif's posse.

John Crookes plays Bigg, a woolly mammoth, and I love the irony of the name, obviously written in to provide a few extra laughs. Talking of which Bigg, is big on writing his own joke book, and we get to hear some wonderfully cringeworthy jokes from his collection. 

Evie Alliott plays Egg, also ironic because Egg is actually a baby dragon, who along with Bigg also makes up the group that travels with Leif to defeat Hod.

Gareth Howell is though the outright star of the show. Let's face it, the Dame character normally is. Gareth plays Nurse Nitty Nora and is everything that you could ask for in The Dame role. His talent for going off script when he sees a prospective Mr Nitty Nora in the front row, Lewis, was wonderfully comical and saucy. In the true Dame outcome though she finds her true love on stage and seems to forget all about Lewis, who must have been heartbroken! Fantastic Dame costumes and some wonderful comedy lines which are projected really well.

The chorus is made up of Megan Kearney, Sophie West, Harry Alcock, Andy Callow, who is making his NUH Panto debut, Claire Pavier, Emma Reid, Alison Towner and Collette Wong. These work almost as hard as the main characters as they swap and change characters throughout.

Musical Director is Rowena Wood, who also plays drums, and the rest of the "Winter Draws On" band consist of  Sam Uveges (Trumpet), Christine Cripps (Oboe), Catherine Williams (Keyboards), Anita French (Clarinet), Phil Hughes (Bass) and Michael Johnson (Guitar). 

There are some great music choices, and very different to a lot of pantomimes, including a rocking version of The Beastie Boys hit "(You've Got To Fight For Your) Right To Party".

Directed by Gareth Howell, assisted by Kat Crookes and Barbara Eastham. 

The script is by Barbara Eastham with additional material by Martin Orrell.

Choreographed by Emma Reid, Kat Crookes, Beth Eastham and Alison Towner.

Costumes by Elizabeth Paling and Suzy Thornton. 

Produced by Steve Eastham.

Technical support is thanks to Jonathan Pykett.

Sound and Lighting is by Squire Performing Arts Centre. No missed cues, no sound issues and wonderful lighting design and effects.

Stage Manager is Steve Eastham with the backstage crew consisting of Barbara Eastham (how many hats does Barbara wear in this production?), Peter Knowles and Tom Shepherd. there's quite a bit of stage props in this show, including a marvellous throne for Hod which lights up.

A really welcoming Front Of house crew made up of the NUH Panto family, Alison Rigby, Lisa Kelly, Dylan Steele, Lisa Thomas, Angela White and Debbie Welch.

The Sunday evening performance did have a few gaps big enough to drive a snow plough through, but let me remind you that these are not actors who act together on a regular basis. They get together to perform one show a year, but the energy and enthusiasm they all have dispel any early in the run bits that need tightening up. That said I, and the rest of the audience had an absolute ball with this cleverly written show which has all the ingredients that make a novel, yet traditional style pantomime.

For those who may have never heard of this group, their members are made up mainly, but not wholly, of workers within the emergency services, and all profits from their shows go to supply items within Nottingham hospitals that would not normally be covered by the NHS in order to improve patients’ hospital experience.

"Winter Draws On" is performed at Squire Performing Arts Centre from Sunday 12 January 2025 to Saturday 18 January 2025 with the exception of Monday 13 January, so if you fancy a pantomime which has a slightly alternative slant to it, then this is the one to see. Oh, and be ready for loads of audience participation.