The tale was of a proud emperor, a cruel ruler of his people who had his come-uppance when some swindlers persuaded him to believe that he had bought a fine outfit for the village parade. In fact, he had bought nothing at all. When he paraded, in what he believed to be his wonderful outfit, he was in fact naked. When one of his people cried out this plain fact, the humiliation the emperor suffered taught him a salutary lesson.
In Ely recently, Slingshot Theatre Company (part of the Christian charitable organization Saltmine Trust) solved the problem of nudity quite tastefully in their production of this story. Lively, highly skilled dance and stage movements, crystal clear diction and remarkable characterization brought the story alive. The arrogant pot-bellied emperor played by Rebecca Rogers, the trickster rogues Stan (Beth Lower) and Dan (Tom Rawling), the foot-in-mouth old minister (Tim Goodwright) the feisty, sprightly Granny (Philippa Gibb), the beautiful Marie (Beth Lower), and the hard-done-by Toby (Tom Rawling) worked every exaggerated emotion from the chaotic events as every pantomime should. The audience were encouraged to react to the amazing situations and there was a good body of enthusiastic young voices that joined in with the "oohs" , the "ahs", the "Oh no you"re not!' and the "They"re behind you' cries. These all added zest to this highly accomplished production.
Crammed with ingenious ideas - one of these, for example, was the making of a snowman from toilet rolls - this show moved at a rollicking pace and as the Emperor finally paraded at the Pickleberry Christmas Day Parade without a stitch of clothing on (but discreetly shielded by a golden banner), the audience was left with that sense of well-being that comes only from the best of entertainment.
The splendid feast of cakes and biscuits produced by the local members of the Countess Free Church (responsible for organizing the event) certainly helped in the raising of spirits on this cold December evening.
Amongst their whirlwind of playful antics were some amazing interludes of rhythmic percussion in which the characters played dustbins, Pringles case, brush and other assortments of domestic implements. Costumes, scenery, lighting and sound all gave good support. Uninhibited shots from water pistols kept the audience alert and moments of departure from the script acknowledging an extra loud giggle or two were additional highlights. The well-crafted script was by Amy Harris, Tom Rawling and Beth Lower. Other contributors were Tim Yeomans (Lighting, Sound and Set Design), Graham Dowling (Sound and Lighting), Philippa Gibb (Front of House), Lydia Burton (Administration) and Mike Creake of Verité CM Ltd. (Publicity).
This was indeed a wonderful show not to be missed.
