Theatre director Lu gets a handle on magic lamp
A pupil from Longforgan Primary School went to meet the cast of Dundee Rep’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ after her artistic talents won third place in a competition.
Georgia Berry from Longforgan (front left) was picked to be third place winner in the ‘Ghost of A Christmas Carol’ design and colouring competition.
Georgia’s ghost picture was selected from a shortlist of the most imaginative, original and eye-catching designs entered by primary school children aged between six and eleven.
On Friday, December 15 she was invited along to Dundee Rep with the other two prize winners for a big ‘well done’ presentation on stage with the cast of A Christmas Carol.
As well as a brush with the actors from the seasonal Charles Dickens tale of sharing and reaching out , Georgia received books, a certificate and a goodie bag of art materials in reward.
A selection of some of the spooky competition entry pictures that arrived for ‘Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future’, including Georgia’s excellent seasonal spook, are now being displayed in the children’s corner at the theatre. Director Lu Kemp has turned her hand to her first pantomime and from the reviews coming in about Aladdin, she has struck a chord with the Perth audience.
“It was interesting, surprisingly difficult too,” revealed Perth Theatre’s artistic director Lu Kemp of the family show now on at the Perth Theatre.
“I was lucky to have Barrie Hunter, for he has the knowledge of what works in panto right there, in his bones,” she said of the actor who as well as being a great dame, contributed greatly to the local reading of Joel Horwood’s script.
“If we’ve been at all successful in getting this Aladdin off the ground, I think it is because the story was really tight and the characters were a bit unusual,” said Lu.
In the Perth Panto version of Aladdin, the princess has a strop about who she will marry and she resolutely kicks away the idea of accepting any old rich Prince .
“Nicole Sawyerr as Princess Jasmine is a modern lass and far too savvy to just follow tradition,” explained Lu.
“Then Aladdin, well he’s not that great a person in the beginning. He has to work on who he is, he’s actually a bit of an antihero.
“Look at the way he struggles to give up the Genie - we can all relate to how hard it is to let something so potentially valuable go and to keep a promise.”
Lu was pleased with how Aladdin shows two vastly different families - one royal and one low rent - coping with fracture and loss from within, and how with Aladdin and Princess Jasmine getting together , a new family is formed.
“It was also great getting to grips with relationships in this production. There are mother-son tussles, brother to brother tiffs, self doubt and recriminations.
“I can tell you, there’s nothing ‘simple’ about panto, the ingredients of epic drama and tragedy are all there. I was warned beforehand that it’s really not a play, but to be good, panto has to be done just as seriously,” said Lu.
“Aladdin has been a real pooling of ideas, the whole cast has had a hand in how we pull things off.
“Take the flying carpet scene - it was unrealistic to have a tractor lift to show Jasmine and Aladdin mid air, but the head of stage came up with a simple solution that really worked well. Georgia Berry (front left) got her prize
Barrie Hunter, Tyler Collins, Benny Young and Nicole Sawyerr in Aladdin, Perth Panto 2017
“It’s been great, the whole company has applied themselves, thrown in their ideas .”