FOAM BALLS, FRENCH CAST AND MANIC MUSKETEERS(Linda Kirkman, The Echo)

When Alexander Dumas penned his classic novel I doubt if he had the remotest idea that it would eventually become a manic stage comedy. Quite what he would have made of a tap-dancing postman, a rag-doll king, a war in which foam balls are hurled at the audience and a missing "golden croissant" is anybody's guess, but these and many more quirky events made All Saints' season opener a thoroughly amusing evening. Despite one momentary hiccup when the musketeers themselves (hilariously played by Tony Edwards, Laurie Patey and Richard Fudge) were-presumably-fighting battles en route to the stage, leaving a bemused Rochfort (Tony Lock) waiting patiently for their arrival. Lesley Lock's production was fast and furious. Particularly impressive were the sword-fighting scenes - take a bow fight choreographer Laurie Patey - and Simon Trueick's D'Artagnan was a convincingly swashbuckling hero. There were excellent characterizations too from Lucy Smith (Constance Bonacieux), Louisa Blakey (Milady De Winter) and Mark Andrews (Cardinal Richelieu), but it was Martyn French as the 'French cast' who deservedly stole the show. He played 10 different characters both male and female and with a variety of accents, and brought the house down.

PANTO FIT FOR A MERRY KING (Margeret Franklin, The Echo)

"Yes, a merry old soul was he! In All Saints Dramatic Society's pantomime, written and directed by local author Tony Edwards, the eponymous star Brian Foley was well-supported by a cast of 44 players. Brian - looking like a jovial Richard III - equipped his lively way through merriment to gloom and back again as the apparent theft of his money forced him, his elegant queen (Sheila Clapcott) and their unpossessing, tone deaf daughter (Rachel Eyre) out to work. A bit thin on plot, the show was rich in talent. Miss Muffet (Louisa Blakey) was a bundle of raucous fun, Simon Trueick a stylish Major Domo, and host of cameo parts were lovingly created. Two of the lady fiddlers actually played their instruments. Attractive sets (I particularly liked the clouds scudding across the farmyard) were populated by an energetic chorus and cleverly-costumed spiders, mice, blackbird, farm animals and a belletic cat (Holly Owens). From a corral labeled"Don't feed the animals the band played merrily on. traditional panto ingredients involved and delighted the audience. In the words of King Coles penultimate joke, this show was a "humdinger"!