Review: Round The Twist! Public Reviews

Young Oliver Nicklefield has penned a piece for Mr Crumbles' troupe of Thespian Adventurers. Within its leather-bound pages are a cornucopia of characters with strangely familiar names: Little Mell, Old Sal, Miss Haversack, Obadiah Snoop, Foggotty and the Aged P. Plus some un-canonical gatecrashers like the sinister Scotsman Tosser McCaber.

Great fun is had catching the references as they fly by, dodging the puns, the local jokes, the double entendres and the naughty innuendos. Those old enough to remember I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again will get some idea of the style. Of course being roped in and humiliated in the intimate Gatacre Road auditorium, doubling here as a most convincing Old Curiosity Shop, is part of the fun.

It's not just Dickens either in for parody, Ernest's handbag plays a key role, and there are name checks for Sid and Nancy, as well as [Bob] Marley's Ghost. Panto is largely excluded, thank heavens, save for a passing reference to Ebenezer's Cave.

The five actors in the Crumbles company (we even see a little of their Hamlet from the wings) are kept very busy, dashing around the tiny acting area and changing costumes on the run. All busting a gut to win a coveted OTTA - the award for Over The Top Acting.

Joel Sams makes an appealingly innocent Tiny Tom (don't ask - the origin of his moniker was the subject of one of many marathon running gags) who seeks his benefactor as he waits for his testimonials to materialise. He also plays the fiddle beautifully - this must be the only Christmas show where the lovers duet sharing a violin.

His Dorabella is played by Gabrielle Douglas, her moody juvenile a close relative of the Infant Phenomenon. She vies for the role with the more mature Mrs Crumbles - the showdown where each strives to outdo the other's uppitiness is priceless. Sally Ann Burnett is Mrs Crumbles, as well as Suffolk Favourite Foggotty and many others, including the filthy Mrs Midden, flies buzzing around her head.

Greg Wagland is several possible benefactors - the convict Magpie, the old Gent, McCaber, and most impressively, the tragic Miss Haversack. Zach Lee is the inventive Jammy Dodger, as well the humble Snoop [from Wolverhampton]. He also got the biggest laugh of the matinée - playing some distant cousin of Mr Dick, I think - with an unrepeatable slur on neighbouring Norfolk.

Richard Taylor's music adds to the fun, particularly the operatic Betrayal aria and the opening number, reprised at the end, with just a splash of G&S.

Ivan Cutting's pacey direction keeps the momentum going, even through the often impenetrable plot, from the clever opening to the denouement at Newmarket, providing a witty, pretty seasonal entertainment for those who seek respite from sing-alongs, sparkle and soap-star vehicles.

Michael Gray