The Stoneheart Curse, Sleaford Little Theatre Academy
Last Summer, I met up with Maria Bates and Joanne Moules, the directors of Sleaford Little Theatre Academy and was honoured to be asked to write a script for their company of young actors. Yesterday evening, I was delighted to attend the opening night of ‘The Stoneheart Curse’ and thrilled to see my characters and words brought to life by such a talented bunch. Here are my thoughts on the performance.
PRODUCTION: The Stoneheart Curse
DATE: Wednesday 20th March 2024
THEATRE COMPANY: Sleaford Little Theatre Academy
VENUE: Sleaford Playhouse
DIRECTORS: Joanne Moules & Maria Bates
The music faded as the lights were brought up on the whole cast, tightly huddled together in the centre of the dimly lit library. This setting, hundreds of dusty books on high shelves, provided the backdrop for the story to unfold on like the pages of a novel, each realm of the Kingdom represented by one of the four beautifully painted wings as if they were colour-plate illustrations in a book. The thirty-one strong cast looked bound to each other, standing shoulder to shoulder in a cluster, almost as a single entity, a team of story-makers working as one to tell their tale. They began with a soundscape, cleverly played out to immediately draw their audience into the fantastical world in which the story was set.
As the performers drifted offstage, we were left in the company of our narrators, Maud Goosebottle and Cotton Kettlenook, two of the ‘Library Rats’ who worked in the palace library at the heart of the Kingdom. These characters were played with immense skill by Eliza Hughes and Elizabeth Fearn, respectively, and held the whole production together with their pace and rhythmic delivery. As they relayed the events of the story to the audience from their vast library home, lighting was effectively used to represent different settings.
First, they transported us to a castle in the Wastelands of the Eastern Expanse, home to Serafina Nix, the evil young sorceress responsible for casting the Stoneheart Curse nine years earlier, a spell which caused anyone eighteen years or over to turn to stone. The role was brilliantly portrayed by Finabi Hirst, who delivered her venomous lines with gleeful relish and was clearly having a ball sweeping on and off the stage with a wicked cackle. Living with her in the castle were her long-suffering servants, Bratby, Laggle and Crimps. Matilda Towers and Harry Mack provided some lovely comic moments alongside Abigail Boland whose stage presence and wonderful diction should be commended.
Bringing the audience back to the palace, the Library Rats introduced us to the Royal Family, two teenage princesses and their younger brother Prince Darian, fated to run the Kingdom in the shadow of their parents succumbing to the curse. Princess Belanor, now a queen, was played with regal dignity by Scarlett Long. Her performance was poised and graceful in sharp contrast to her overbearing sister, Estrid, portrayed by Sophia Woodrow-Morton. Sophia was simply fabulous as the feisty and tactless princess, flouncing around the stage in comic annoyance. Oscar Thompson was Prince Darian, and his boundless energy was perfect for the mischievous young royal. Also, at the palace, we met the funny, accident-prone, Brimlorn, played by Isabel Hall, a servant who kept getting herself stuck in various pots and pans.
Next, we were introduced to two more Library Rats. Doric, played by Chloe Markham, a silent character who had great facial expressions, and Brock Dallywater, a young teenage apprentice, charged with the task of leading the ‘rats’ in a search for a way to remove the curse. Brock was played by Matthew Swinney with an understated brilliance. His delivery was gentle and calm but there was an underlying fire burning from within which brought a fantastic sincerity and truth to his performance, and really helped drive the story forward.
After this, the audience were taken to the Twilight Province in the West, all red lighting and moody music, this was the home of the Lycanthropes. There was a distinct change of tone at this point with the actors bringing a real pent-up energy to the stage. Nyah Spanswick’s Gerwulf was a joy to behold as she stomped and seethed her way through the werewolf scenes. The reactions to Gerwulf’s rants, from Amy Lamming as Salomea and Chloe McCullough as Lynexia, were superb and very amusing. The final character we were treated to in this realm was Gothmog the soothsayer, portrayed by Anna Harrison, whose eccentric performance was a big hit with the audience. I particularly enjoyed Gothmog’s spell at the beginning of Act Two.
In the mountainous Northern Realm of the Frenzied Yonder, we found the Sky-Elfins played by Bethany Roberts, Caleb Bates, Charlotte Patterson, Emily Mack and Mia Smith, all looking resplendent in their white and ice-blue costumes. They all worked fabulously as comic stooges to Arthur Flannery’s playful portrayal of Fangrok, the cheekiest of them all. Completing the Sky-Elfin ensemble were Ava Eastwood as Empress Ordelia and Beth Markham as Drayga. Ava’s ethereal charisma was perfect for role and I thoroughly enjoyed Beth’s deadpan delivery.
Finally, we found ourselves in the Shrouded Hills of the South, where a group of circus performers’ children had set up camp. Boe Wills was wonderfully mothering as Elisa Breese, bringing an exquisite tenderness to her performance. Charlie Hare had great comic timing as Gideon Norwood, and I really liked his enthusiasm and energy. The other circus performers were played with confidence and clarity by Ren Brooke, Ruby Hughes and Skye Perkins. I especially liked Emily Wood as Gwench Sourfig, whose diction and detailed characterisation stood out for me. Islay Dickinson-Way was suitably mysterious and troubled as Ferne Foxbriar, the chosen one.
The directors, Joanne Moules and Maria Bates, should be congratulated for giving their young actors the tools to shine in the way they did. I was thrilled to see such incredible stage craft in a cast so young and couldn’t fault the very high production values. The costumes were a delight and brought character and colour to the simple yet highly effective staging and were complimented very well by the make-up. I particularly liked the gothic feel of the lycanthropes’ outfits and beautiful dresses of the Empress Ordelia and Queen Belanor. As I mentioned earlier, the scenic art was very impressive, and the set painters (Mary Newman, Joan Lawton, Helen Hill and Garry Goodge) should be very proud. The sound and lighting design was outstanding, and the technical operation was tight. A big shout out to stage manager, Amanda Grant, and the chaperones, who ensured a very smooth-running performance.
I was totally blown away by this production, it was humorous, emotional and thrilling, and I feel very honoured to have had my script performed by such a talented company. Sleaford Little Theatre Academy, you are a true asset to the society and the town.
