MEDIEVAL MISADVENTURES THAT TRULY WAS A KNIGHT TO REMEMBER!!

The first step in staging a ‘Theatre Restaurant’ is to choose the script…usually whimsical; borderline ridiculous. It is what one does with that script which defines its appeal and on the stages of Toogoolawah’s Alexandra Hall on Sunday, August 5^th and the Gatton Shire Hall the following Saturday evening, the cast from the Esk Community Choir managed to turn A Knight to Remember into an event which will catapult those familiar medieval characters to certain immortality. Who knew if it was the fickle flower of fate, the sword stuck in the stone or one of magical Merlin’s prodigious potions which determined their destiny? Who cared?…for it became the manner in which these trysts and trials played out which made for hours of uproarious entertainment.

Denis, Maree, Di and Lloyd - AKA The Lambertinies

From the outset when patrons had found their places around tables in the halls evoking Camelot it was evident that this was not going to be an exercise in decorum. Maree Lansdown’s Lambertha and her lively Lambertinies acquainted patrons with a taste of the titillation to follow. One by one the characters emerged as the plot began to unfold.

Fubsy (Susan Walker) and Merlin (Tom Byrne)

Who could take seriously the delirious but hilarious Merlin and his proboscisly challenged sister, Fubsy, aka Tom Byrne and Sue Walker?

Guinevere - Grace Crichton

Arthur - Steve Cox

Could so pathetic a King as Arthur, aka Steven Cox seriously expect to win the heart of the beguiling Guinevere played by the talented Grace Crichton?

And thank heavens that saucy seductress Gertrude the Gherkin aka Kerry Corbett eventually did manage to settle on a soul mate in the form of the whimpy, limpy Lancelot brought to life by Gary Williamson.

Gertrude the Gerkin - Kerry Corbett

Lancelot - Gary Williamson

Mistress Magenta - Christine Caldwell

It was Christine Caldwell, who portrayed so beautifully though quite the antithesis of this evil and conniving character, Mistress Magenta as were her intellectually limited attendants, Igor (Judy Williamson), Egg Nog (Caitin Wollaston), Egg Flip (Yvonne Kerswell), Egg Head (Marina Crichton) and Bob Hardy, convincing as always in his portrayal of Magenta’s twisted assistant Dingbat.

Marina Crichton, Judy Williamson, Caitlin Wollaston, Yvonne Kerswell

Dingbat - Bob Hardy

Each scene manufactured its own brand of comedy, some scripted, most often not, all generating peels of unadulterated laughter. However, it was the on-cue entrances of that blasted little flute-playing white-winged Love Pixie, Margaret Philp who managed to bring the house down!!

The Love Pixie - Margaret Philp

Kudos and bouquets must go to the Choir’s ‘Dream Team’. Alexis, for sacrificing precious Choir time for much needed rehearsals; Greg Skippen, audio ace who makes us sound a little better than we hope for; the ever- efficient catering queen, Sue Cox who, on this occasion co-ordinated a team of helpers and managed to keep hunger at bay through two near capacity performances; to the unsung but always present souls who never fail to put up their hands to donate plates of food, man entry and raffle tables, bar and any manner of other points of service necessary to forge a successful event, not forgetting the unwavering support and generosity of Boutique Meats, Toogoolawah and the editors of Somerset Newspaper who constantly find room in their publication allowing this writer to sing the praises of so many Choir events.

Finally, it is to the creator of costumes and makeup, Carolyn King, the experience and unquestioned craftsmanship of coiffeur, Nola Niemeyer, the artistry of set designers, Kerry Corbett, Gary and Judy Williamson and by no means least, the imagination and stellar stage craft of Artistic Director, Kathleen Watts who transformed a bunch of hams into almost-actors, who nurtured, hammered, shaped and moulded a cast of committed choristers and created yet another hallmark event in this the 40^th Anniversary year of the Esk Community Choir that we owe a huge debt of gratitude.

By: Sue Walker