Robin Hood at the Landmark Theatre Review

Local Theatre royalty Lee Baxendale has well and truly earned his crown

with his latest Small Pond production of Robin Hood.

We went along to the Landmark Theatre on Saturday for the matinee performance of the 'not a panto' musical comedy. The show was a fast-paced, laugh-a-minute romp around Sherwood that leaving the audience feeling suitably festive after some fun puns, a boo-hiss panto villain and a spritely and sparkly band of dancing merry men!

Full of catchy tunes and memorable characters played by a truly talented cast, the tongue-in-cheek performances provided plenty of laugh out loud moments for the rapt audience. Both leads hammed it up perfectly to play the star-crossed lovers with side-splitting support from their sidekicks. Joan Slater's portrayal of the sullen and sarky handmaid Sabina was a stroke of comic genius and Neil Rudd charmed the audience with his whimsical interpretation of the gentle Friar. The inspired characters of simple-minded Much the baker's son and the startlingly cerise Will Scarlett also had the audience in stitches.

Expert support came from the technical crew, as well as the house band in the orchestra pit who gave a faultless rendition of the twenty new songs throughout the musical. 

The show was written and directed by Lee Baxendale who also wrote the music and lyrics, making it  even more impressive that his first ever full -length musical production was such a triumph. Lee founded Small Pond productions along with Debbie Hadley ten years ago in 2001 and has produced many shows and cabarets during the past decade. In 2012 you can look forward to their performance of Calendar Girls in December at the Landmark after the company became one of the first groups in the country to gain the stage rights to the show.