LET THERE BE…

This morning, whilst shopping for kitchen towels, washing up liquid, and the like, at my local Home Bargains store, I noticed that they had the following for sale, at very affordable prices…

8” Mirror Ball

6” Disco Ball

10” Disco Ball

Sound to light Traffic Light

Battery-operated Strobe Light

Presumably they were aimed at the Christmas party market.

I have suggested the use of a mirror ball effect at least, in some of my scripts, and whilst I know next to nothing about stage lighting, and a ‘proper’ lighting man would probably say that these are mere toys, it did occur to me that they might be the kind of thing some small amateur dramatic societies with a tight budget, would be able to afford and use.

This was purely an observation. I have no connection whatsoever, with Home Bargains. They claim to have 250 stores throughout the country.


IVAN IDEA

This is a clip from the Russian film ‘Zolushka’, which I understand, means, ‘Cinderella’.

ARNIE                    Do you speak Russian?

BARNEY                I have a smattering. Well… just one word, actually!

ARNIE                    Oh… and what’s that?

BARNEY                ‘Nyet’! Do you know what that means?

ARNIE                    No!

BARNEY                Neither do I!

Written by, Anton Fridlyand, and directed by Semyon Gorov, it was made for television, and shown on Channel One Russia, in 2003.

My regular reader will know that as far as pantomimes are concerned, I have bemoaned the move towards including what passes for music in this day and age. However, here we have what could be described as an incongruous mix of period feel, with a fairly up-to-date, boisterous backing. In this instance however, the performers are actually presenting a parody of the pop video. They are deliberately just that little bit over-enthusiastic, a touch too energetic, and at times, appear to be taking the whole thing slightly too seriously. I have mentioned the mock-operatic nonsense on ‘Glee’, and it pleases me no end that the musical numbers in ‘Zolushka’ strip away that pretentiousness perfectly.

It would be very satisfying to see this on stage, in upcoming pantomime productions! The difficulty is that to do it this way you really need to know what you’re at, and have the skill and talent to make it look quite close to the real thing. There is I suppose, a comparison with the girls at the seedy Kit Kat Club in the musical ‘Cabaret’, where the requirement is for actors who are good enough to come over as being not very polished, or proficient. "Rosie, Lulu, Frenchie, Texas, Fritzie... Und Helga. Each and every one a wirgin!"

The very striking lady in the red hat with dove decoration is the Ukrainian singer and actress, Taisiya Povaliy, who plays the part of the Matchmaker. The Simon Callow look-alike on her left is brilliant. I’m not really sure what the ugly sisters, Brunhilda and Dafna, are up to in the cut-away shots, but I can hazard a guess.

There are lots more excerpts on YouTube, but they are not in any order, and they are sans subtitles. I would very much like to see the whole flick, from start to finish, dubbed into English.

 

There is a film with the same title, which was made in 1947, available in the complete version on - youtu.be/yqL9DEZM_4M

- and with subtitles (which have to be switched on). In both productions, I particularly like the image of Cinderella in her rags. In my opinion, it gives her much more character than the more traditional image, as portrayed by Twiggy at the Casino Theatre, London, in December 1974 (see right).

The costumes, sets, and art direction are outstanding in both versions of  ‘Zolushka’. I am fully aware that it is not really possible for amateur companies to get close to the design standard of the sets and props, but with a bit of begging, borrowing and wheeling and dealing, maybe companies could get close to the look of the costumes.

Na zdrovyeh!