I do wish that this charming musical reworking of Hans Christian Anderson's story of the Ugly Duckling could be given a more attractive name. In their anxiety to distance the musical from Anderson's story the adapters really have come up with a title more guaranteed to put potential audience's off attending rather entice them into the theatre. The adaptation is full of gentle humour and charm, which the score although not full of toe tapping ‘hits' enhances. This is not a show to ‘push into the audience's face' and the director was obviously well aware of this judging the intensity of individual scenes expertly. With this guidance on hand the cast also invariably hit the right note dramatically and with just a few minor errors musically. All these efforts could, however, have been scuppered by sloppy work from the stage, lighting and sound teams. For all the good facilities it offers as a theatre I would imagine that this venue is not the easiest one to accommodate a show which has within it ten often fast moving scenes. A great deal of planning must, therefore, have gone into the setting up of the staging for this production. That being done it then requires teams of disciplined, talented people to ensure that these plans are carried out with the utmost efficiency.

You opted for what was fundamentally one set, which could be quickly and easily converted effectively at speed. Good use was made of the three steps either side of the principal acting area, which formed little alcoves. Actors could be and were frequently placed in these areas and isolated when necessary with light. The stage designer enhanced both of these areas by painting stage right with bullrushes and left with the effect of a water meadow. The principal archway and rostra, which gave good variation in heights was an asset which was continually enhanced by the lighting team. Only once was I at a loss to follow the reasoning behind the change of venue. This occurred when the curtains were brought down on a scene only to be raised a few minutes later on what looked for all intents and purposes exactly the same scene that we had seen previously.

Actors are often told that they must never lose their concentration and thankfully the stage crew followed the same edicts. When a chair fouled the curtain at the end of the scene in the old woman's cottage one member of the stage team was on hand in a flash to rectify matters. Striking the set was probably the most major operation facing the stage crew and they accomplished this task admirably causing as slight an interruption to proceedings as they possibly could. When you have this number of scene changes in a show and often variations within a particular scene lighting takes on an added responsibility. Poorly set and/or operated lights can make or mar any scene and it is very easy to do the latter when you have a lighting plot with as many twists and turns as this one had. On more than one occasion a change of atmosphere within a number was aided considerably by the use of lights. Spots were effectively used throughout the entire evening. On one occasion when the Toad first entered the lighting did jar a little in the way in which it suddenly shot up in volume following quite a quiet moment before whilst we had been listening to Ugly singing.

In fact so complex at times were some of the lighting changes that I wondered in fact if they were all absolutely necessary. However as they were all invariably so well done and effective this is a thought that deserves to be dismissed and replaced with praise for the lighting crew's overall work.

The sound team have fewer opportunities to display their talents but when needed these came in on cue and at the right volume. The fellow who captured Honk, the elderly lady who owned the house, gunshots aimed at the geese were all sound effects that were produced ideally by the sound crew. Ida singing off stage was also heard at the right volume. If this was all her own work she judged it extremely well. If assisted mechanically then those in charge of the sound can take a bow.

Anthropomorphism - a word I can never spell and have great difficulty at times pronouncing - is one that must be burnt into the minds of the costume team. They have to turn out animal characters in costume that whilst telling you exactly the sort of animals they were at the same time graft onto them human values and responses. To say that they almost always were successful in this aim would be to undervalue their contribution to the production. Rather than go through a long list about the costumes at this time I will go into more detail as we talk about individual performances. I suppose you could say that because you can be quite outrageous with most of the costumes it does give the wardrobe team a rather freer hand but the correct choice still has to be made at the outcome.

Whatever qualifications I may have about costumes taken overall this was a beautifully dressed show. It was also a production that was never lacking in pace. Just one hiccup when Ida's entrance was delayed for some reason or another and the scene rather ground to a near halt. Whoever was the cause of this can take the blame and the musicians can give themselves a ‘brownie’ point for helping to fill the gap so well.

The choreographer handled the differing animals well to create movement non only to fit into their animal characters but also into the human responses that they often had to show. The Geese with their arms imitating aeroplane movement were good. The choreographer was also not frightened to use the full company when an opportunity presented itself and on these occasions the stage never looked cluttered nor was one left holding your breath waiting for a collision to take place. Those chorus girl movements performed by the Bullfrog and his family were a delight as were those lovely neck and head movements by members of the Lake community. We may not have had full dance routines to watch but there were a string of attractive, smoothly changing pictures to look at and enjoy.

Musical accompaniment was strong throughout and the position of the orchestra above and behind the action did not appear to upset the singers. Because I am sorry to say there were some empty seats at the performance which I attended I took advantage of moving from my position in row D I think it was centre to a vacant area at the rear of the auditorium. Incidentally speaking purely personally I like to sit if possible on an aisle seat so that my continual note-taking throughout the production is less distracting to other members of the audience. From this higher area I could see the orchestra very clearly but never found them distracting for a moment. The quality of the playing gave this pleasant if not outstanding score every chance to show its merit. Those well-played arrangements gave the soloists and chorus excellent support. Just how the musical director managed to cue the singers into the numbers I was at a loss to discover but I was never aware of any of the singers fishing for an opening note or losing contact with the orchestra.

Dramatic cues were also tight, which helped to keep the production buzzing along at a fair old rate. This is the sort of show that has distinct atmosphere and style about it. If you fail to capture this then there is absolutely no chance whatsoever of captivating your audience. This production captured the style well and didn't fall into the trap that I have seen other productions of this show do in trying to concentrate either too much upon the seniors in the audience or the juniors in the audience with the almost sure result that they pleased neither. I would be surprised if most of the audience who saw this show were not completely captivated by the manner in which it was presented.

Just as you need a thirteen year old with the confidence and experience of a mature woman to play Juliette so ideally the actor playing Ugly should have somewhat similar assets. On each occasion I have seen this show, both played by professional and local companies, they have all opted for a young man somewhere in his twenties. There is a certain logic in taking this course because the young man in question as we had on this occasion is invariably that much bigger than his siblings and, therefore, fits into the idea of being a somewhat strange big bird who has invaded Ida's nest.

In your well chosen brown clothes, long socks and heavy shoes you looked despite the birdcap rather too handsome for anyone to refer to you as ‘ugly'. I sat there quite indignant on your behalf muttering at some of these people on stage and saying ‘who are you calling ugly' when they themselves fitted the description rather better than you did. After a while I accepted that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it was that the fact that you were different not that you were actually physically unpleasant to look at that sent the other members of the lakeside community down this road.

That was a fine Honk you let out to announce your arrival, a sound that was repeated to good effect on more than one occasion. The pneumatic drill sounds that came with you breaking out of the eggshell were well done and another plus here for the sound team. You displayed a good line in confusion and hurt as you realised that the others were not going to accept you within their community. No mention is made in the programme of a choreographer so it is congratulations to whoever took on that role whether it was the director or somebody else for the work that you and Ida did when you were taking your swimming lesson. The ‘different' number gave you a chance to display your emotions musically and you took full advantage of the opportunity. There was just the right amount of pathos in the vocal, which prevented it slipping into mere sentimentality. There was some nice by-play between you, Queenie and Lowbutt making good use of the big furniture and cups and saucers, which were within the old lady's cottage. And an even better interchange with the delectable Penny. The love song which came out of this meeting was not quite so successful, the top notes needing a little more body. One thing, however, they were not lacking in was genuine sincerity, which made the number extremely attractive to listen to.

The young snowflake dance added considerably to our enjoyment of this scene setting up your emerging resplendent as a swan. Honesty and sincerity shone through this performance creating a character we could all care about and wished nothing but good things in the future.

IDA

My paternal grandmother was a typical Welsh 'mam' fiercely protective of her ten strong brood but never soft with them. She could and did discipline them for what she saw as their own good but the Lord help anyone else who verbally or physically attacked them in any way. Such people would be met with the ferocity of a lioness protecting her cubs. You reminded me of a' Welsh Mam' in the way in which you jumped in to defend Ugly regardless of anyone else's feelings towards him and that included Drake and the Ducklings. I nearly missed your first solo lines half hidden as you were as you delivered them. Whether the director or those on stage take the blame for this is arguable. Then one of the ducklings tried to sabotage you by popping out of the shell just a little too soon. ‘The Joys of Motherhood', which you and Maureen delivered in front of the curtains aided by an excellently centralised spot, came over extremely well. This is the moment when I wondered just why the curtains had been drawn because when you went back into the scene afterwards little if anything appeared to have been happening behind to reset it.

The swimming lesson was not only good because of the movement but also we had the feeling throughout it that you and Ugly were growing closer and closer together. The relationship with Maureen was also expertly drawn. You showed genuine concern for her welfare. All this helped to add to Ida's character. That elaborately set ending to Act I with you and Ugly in the isolated areas stage right and stage left was another moment that funnily enough although you were not at the side of the stage seemed to draw you close together.

Once you decided to set off on your quest for Ugly there was no doubting your determination. Drake had absolutely no chance of getting you to change your mind. Your one slow cue, which I have already mentioned early on, came when you were about to make a ‘phone call to Drake on the mobile. This was so unlike you that I have to ask the question as to was somebody else responsible for your slow entry. Because you and Ugly had built up such a good relationship throughout the show I would have liked a little more emphasis on the pathos that must have been there at the end when you realised that this lad was not yours and that he was going to go off and make a life for himself with the swans. Yours is not the sort of character who would have been either jealous or begrudging about him doing that but that little hint of sadness I think you could have brought in even more had you been given the opportunity to do so and emphasise it during the final moments of the show. In a way this is rather an unfair criticism anyway because I think it is the fact that your performance had given us so much I was just being a little greedy and asking for even more.

CAT

Rather like the title of the show I rather feel that the adapters lost an opportunity here in not finding a rather more descriptive name for this character than just Cat. In that long black coat and the black trousers I must admit there were moments when you reminded me of Herr Flick from 'Allo 'Allo but the character you created was in all fairness a long way from that rather incompetent Gestapo man. From your very first entrance there was little doubting that you may have been the villain of the piece but you were not a one-dimensional villain in any way. That ‘he became crisper and aromatic before his time' was timed extremely well. And your contribution to the ‘look at him' number was timed just as expertly.

There was a lovely confident air about the manner in which literally scooped up poor Ugly and swept him off the stage obviously at that moment certain that dinner was about to be served. It was at this time that we had a wonderful set of different movements from the members of the chorus as they went off in search of Honk. The duet which followed between Ugly and yourself ‘Play with your Food' had a lovely tongue-in-cheek feel about it. The orchestral backing at this time was also particularly good and added to our enjoyment of the number.

I loved the way in which you played up to Queenie to get the right sort of response from her so that you could try and get Ugly out of the cottage and back into your clutches. That final exit also was done with a great deal of style, you really felt that here was somebody who considered himself to really be a ‘Jack the Lad'. Although you know this is hardly the sort of character who is going to reform himself and become one of the nice guys at the same time you have to have a rather begrudging liking for him. For us to have that feeling you have to have somebody who has produced a well studied character and having created him maintained him throughout the entire production.

DRAKE

In many ways poor old Drake is a bit of a thankless task because he is the stooge so often to other people within the production. It is his wife Ida who has the leading role really within the family and he winds up almost as it were as a househusband at the end of it. Not that there is anything against househusbands, it is just that within the context of the play obviously that it is a more minor status than it is taking the decisions in the manner in which Ida does. The problem here is to create the sort of character to give him a little edge so that we can be a little unsympathetic towards him at times but at the same time not to create a dull uninteresting character.

You struck up a very good relationship with Ida giving us the feeling that here was somebody who rather believed he had more authority over his wife and family than he actually had. At the same time as you showed later when Ida made the decision to leave and look for Ugly there was obviously a greater depth of feeling than the one that had merely scratched the surface when we first met you. You also struck up a very good rapport with the ducklings and that ‘marmalade joke' came over exceptionally well because of this well set up relationship. The later scene with the duckling quartet when they were nagging you and being rather cheeky was also one that came over extremely well. Prior to that you had one of your few chances to display your vocal prowess telling us that there was no joy in motherhood and with that set of youngsters around you I could see that it wouldn't exactly be a fun experience.

Importantly at this moment you didn't give us the impression that you actually disliked those youngsters. Yes they were a trial and yes they were causing you problems but somehow or another we still had the feeling that you realised full well that they were your youngsters and you had a responsibility to take care of them and to love them. All of this helped to add to a very definite character, which in this case is not the easiest to create because of the way in which Drake is written he could in fact become a very shadowy sort of figure and almost disappear from view.

TURKEY and HENRIETTA

This isn't a partnership in the sense that they work like a comedy duo but they do represent two distinct elements within the group who live by the lakeside. In the case of Turkey here was someone whose outfit was very well designed and he made good use of it. With the right sort of vocal tones to go with his appearance here was somebody who straddled the position of being an animal and with human responses exceptionally well. This player's contribution to the opening number ‘A Poultry Tale' was good helping to ensure that it vocally built up to an excellent ending. Unlike some of the other characters like the geese and the cats later on you come into more than one scene and, therefore, have a rather more difficult job to sustain the characters that you have created and not to lose concentration. With the combination of using your voices well and adding the right sort of movement these characters never disappeared even if they were not the focal point of the scene. It take good judgement in fact to do exactly that not to detract from other people or some particular presentation when you are not the most important thing that is on stage and at the same time not to disappear out of sight altogether so that we don't even realise you are on there. These were two well judged characters who performed their task within this production in a manner which I hope pleased the director and certainly pleased the audience.

MAUREEN

With her striking costume, which she wore with great aplomb, there was never any chance that we would lose Maureen amongst the crowd. Add to that the right sort of vibrant personality to go with the costume and here was someone who indeed we were not likely to pass over. In one form or another the good natured, golden hearted ‘tart' can be seen in many plays, films and musicals. It can be if performed well a very rewarding role even as was the case on this occasion when it is not perhaps the biggest role on offer. The great thing is to play it with style and belief and this performance came over with those sort of attributes.

The lighting team helped you on your first entrance bringing the lights up full as you were introduced to us and you took it up from there making sure that the personality was a big one that attracted our attention immediately you had arrived. There was an immediate partnership struck up between yourself and Ida despite the fact that I don't think you were perhaps at your best either of you when you combined to sing ‘The Joy of Motherhood'. The way in which you showed concern for Ida's problems left us in no doubt as to the feelings that you had for her and her family. They also came over in a manner that suggested that given the opportunity here was a performer that could show a great deal of depth to their characterisation. I could imagine you playing Rose in the musical ‘Gypsy', a lady completely eaten up with her own selfish ambition yet at the back of her mind always believing that the depth of her love for her two girls knows no bounds. A nicely drawn character which was always a pleasure to watch.

GRACE

In many ways the authors were a little unfair to this character because they wanted to show authority they wanted to display the fact that she represents the old order establishment but at the same time give her very little ammunition with which to do it. You had the right sort of dignity, in both your appearance and the manner in which you walked and talked, to ensure that we knew the sort of person you were and had you been given a little more ammunition I am quite certain you would have drawn a more definite character. As it was both we and you had to be content with a thumbnail sketch but in all fairness it was a thumbnail sketch which left us in very little doubt as to the sort of person that Grace was or the position which she filled within the community.

JACK DAW

You could of course base this character on so many people it isn't true. The pushy in many ways ill-informed television interviewer who becomes intrusive is someone we have seen all too often in American TV shows and unfortunately sometimes with people in real life. You could have, in fact, been a little more pushy because Ida didn't respond strongly enough to what was going on around her and literally shoo everybody off so that she could be alone and sing her song. We could perhaps blame Ida for this lack of response but we would have to put a little of the blame I think onto the people around her for not pushing her hard enough. Nevertheless despite that we knew the sort of person that you were trying to depict to us and perhaps the reason that it didn't come over as more objectionable was the fact that a little too much of your own rather nicer character came out rather than the pushy ‘I'll get a story it doesn't matter whom I hurt in doing so' sort of character that some TV interviewers actually are.

GREYLAG and DOT, SNOWY, BARNACLES and PINKFOOT

Greylag with his beautifully outrageous costume with fine boots and scarf to top the whole thing off is one of those characters that it is almost impossible to overplay. Dot on the other hand in her navy blue and shoulder bag looked just as good and was clever enough for the most part to play the straight man to Greylag's more outrageous character. You could have got a good model for the part of Gosling if you could have dug out some old radio programmes where a character called Humphry Lestoq created a character known as Flying Officer Kite. With his handlebar moustache and tendency to over-exaggerate everything he was telling you Flying Officer Kite was indeed larger than life. However he was not unreal and that is one place where you have got to be careful with Gosling. I say it is almost impossible to overplay but you can in fact push him into mere caricature and then lose a lot of the humour in doing so. This you didn't do although you skated perilously near to it on occasions. I think the great thing was that you had a goodly crew around you in the form of Snowy, Barnacles and Pinkfoot and between their reaction to you and the calming effect of Dot then we had a combination that was able to go in search of the humour within this situation but at the same time just retain that slight hold on reality.

This indeed was a fine team. There was a lovely selection of boots and hats amongst them and the movement while Greylag and Dot were leading the number ‘The Wild Goose Chase' fitted beautifully into the number and the situation. That patriotic speech from Gosling accompanied by suitable music was done in fine style as was Dot who changed the atmosphere somewhat with her steward speech but was equally in good form. Whoever was responsible for the movement at this time can also take a bow for the manner in which they moved everybody around the stage and then out through the audience singing as they went. Just to round it off then we had those well-produced gunshot sounds from the sound effects team. All in all you could say that here were a group of people who made a fine contribution to the production.

QUEENIE and LOWBUTT

The stage designer and those who built the sets gave you both a lovely chance to start off Act Two in fine style with that well made big chair and table and cups and saucers all set centre stage. Ugly did his best also to set things up with that lovely little bi-play with the big ball of wool before you appeared. Once again here the mixture of the costume team and those responsible for the make-up made sure that we had two characters here that were immediately identifiable and two actors who were completely at ease playing these sort of roles. No problem either with the duet that came so early in the second Act ‘It Takes All Sorts'. The style in which you presented this number got right to the heart of its meaning and the voices blended together in a manner which made it enjoyable to listen to. This is the stage, of course, when once again we say thank you to the sound team for producing the voice of the old lady offstage in a manner which gave us no doubt as to the fact that she was the owner and boss of the establishment.

I loved the way in which the chicken laid the egg, that lovely little squawk as it finally was produced. Once again the lighting team came to the fore too as they changed the lighting effect as the television was used. Besotted is the word that comes to mind as I think of the way in which Queenie fairly swooned over the Cat when he appeared. He, of course, played up to her tremendously well. With Lowbutt joining in showing her indignation as they all sang 'Together' we had a number which was hugely enjoyable. I was less sure about the tango but certainly when we got to the end of the number the response between Queenie and Lowbutt hit just the right note as they came back together remorseful and tearful. This was a very good combination of two characters that made an excellent duo.

BULLFROG

The Bullfrog with his mixture of outrageous optimism with a dash of morality thrown in as well is a lovely character, one which again can be played right to the hilt. Here we had someone who captured this character beautifully on that first almost flying entrance and was never going to let it escape from him from that moment on. No matter how corny the dialogue was such as that ‘down in the mouth' gag it was delivered with the firm authority of someone who believed they were delivering some of Shakespeare's finest lines. The result is that even such jokes were funny and acceptable. If we hadn't had these lines delivered in such a manner I am quite certain that the Bullfrog would never have got away with the ‘I've got a human in my throat' line as well as he did. Once again the wardrobe team had not let you down and you knew exactly the flamboyant manner in which to wear such a costume.

Neither were you let down by the froglets who came galloping on with their green umbrellas and gave the Bullfrog every assistance in the musical part of his performance. Those chorus girls' movements towards the end were a delight. As we had seen earlier with the geese, the Bullfrogs were a team that worked extremely well and had at their head someone who knew exactly the style in which this character was to be presented and with which the show itself was to be presented and did so in a manner which ensured that we all enjoyed this scene with the play tremendously.

Good sound effects incidentally at the end of this sequence with the sound of steps and the voice of men as they captured Ugly in the net.

PENNY, MOTHER SWAN and FATHER SWAN

It has been the fate of many an actress in both the cinema and theatre over the years to play rather wishy-washy attractive young women who have got very little strength of character and the net result is that they are rarely remembered. So many ‘starlets' as they were known appeared in cinema and theatre only to disappear as soon as they were looking for a fresh pretty face to play this sort of role. I hope that is not to be the fate of the young lady who played Penny because there were distinct signs within the manner she created this character that there was a great deal more depth to her than just coming on looking attractive, saying a few lines and walking back off again. Those distinctive white costumes, which all three of you wore, were extremely well created and if they were made specially for the production then somebody did a very fine job indeed. If they were hired then once again somebody had a good eye for what would be the perfect costume for this show.

I did find at times, however, that Mother Swan was inclined to hold her arms a little too stiffly and give the impression that she wasn't absolutely completely at home within the costume. This is the moment where you tell me that the director wanted you to do exactly that and you had obeyed those instructions to the letter. If so then I apologise and place the blame on the

director for making you look a little too stiff and not give you the same freedom of movement as we saw with your daughter.

I hasten to add at this moment that I am talking here about a minor fault, nothing that really detracted from the overall picture which the three swans presented. There was no doubt watching these two elegant parents and their attractive daughter that Ugly was certainly moving up in society as he moved from being the Ugly Duckling to a Swan.

SEASONS CHOIR

Again a group who were resplendently turned out you were never going to be lost in the shuffle in those outfits and you certainly wore them with great aplomb. At times some of the music which you were asked to sing and the lyrics which you were asked to sing bordered on being just plain silly but rather like the Bullfrog you delivered them with such sincerity and belief that it was impossible for us to dislike them in any way, shape or form. I can think of more than one player that I know who would not have been happy turned out as you were, although you were extremely smart, and having to make the sort of contribution that you did to this show but I can honestly say that you all did so in a manner which made it more than just acceptable. I made a note part way through after one of your contributions that said that you had sung those particular sets of lyrics as if they were a part of Handel's Messiah.

There were some lovely harmonies to listen to as you were singing your vocals and I would suggest that they didn't come about without quite a deal of rehearsal. That rehearsal indeed paid off in full as you enhanced our enjoyment of the show and one final word to the wardrobe team for those hoods on the ladies' capes, which were very attractive.

DUCKLINGS

Mischievous, self-willed and at times just a little cruel - it is the sort of thing that young children can be described as being and you between you were at different times all these things. Having emerged from the eggs, even if one of you did try to come on a little too soon, you quickly established just the right sort of relationship between yourselves, your Mother and your Father and then, of course, the sort of relationship that a youngster would have against someone who wasn't exactly the same as them when Ugly appeared. The herd instinct is deeply there within most young people and as we all know all too well at schools even now with all the knowledge and information we have youngsters very easily can pick upon somebody who isn't quite like the rest of them. Most importantly you worked as a team and when the opportunity came showed us that you were completely selfish and very prepared to play up poor Dad when Mother wasn't there to keep an eye on you. If anybody ever wished to make a case against househusbands as opposed to housewives then I think you did a good job for them because most certainly Ida was very much more in charge of you than Drake was.

This group made a sound contribution to the production creating a highly believable group of youngsters.