Panto report! The Swan Princess - Washington Theatre Group

Our final panto trip of the season was to Arts Centre Washington, Tyne and Wear, to see Washington Theatre Group’s production of The Swan Princess. This group is quite rightly renowned for its imaginative approach to panto, and this production nicely carried on that tradition – the panto itself is by no means a standard one, and writer Peter Marshall made the most of the opportunity it gave him to experiment. As a result, we got a fairy tale storyline, a ridiculously over the top vain princess, a very naughty puppet swan (who sometimes reappeared as a squirrel or a crocodile!), a dame who was a wind-up doll, a lovely comedy dance by some very smart toy soldiers, a two-headed, three-legged goblin henchperson, a dramatic and hilarious chase video, and a hugely popular guest appearance by a Minion, in addition to all the panto business you’d expect.   Cathy Wood made a charming Odette, the Swan Princess of the title, while Matthew Lowe was great with the audience as love interest Prince Derek, and Peter Marshall threw himself into the role of principal baddie, the Goblin King. But star of the show for us was Catriona Uren as audience’s best friend, Ginger the Gingerbread Man. Mention must be made of the look of the show – the costumes and make-up must have been very challenging to achieve, but they were fabulous across the board, and a cut-out and back-lit set added a lot of atmosphere. The audience went away singing the show’s praises, as they always do for this theatre group. Looking forward to next year!