A COVEN of no less than nine horribly glamorous witches bestrode the Grasmere stage, their mission to transform every nasty child into a mouse.

Roald Dahl's bizarrely imaginative tale The Witches, adapted for the stage by David Wood and directed by Hugh Wright, was excellent material for the Grasmere Players' cast.

Its sequence of snappy scenes rattled through the plot and set exciting challenges for both the cast and production team.

It might have been tempting to go overboard with fancy razzamatazz, but this well-judged production used properties, bangs and flashes and nicely managed business' to excellent effect.

Holding the show together was Grandma, the one character

with an opportunity to develop three-dimensionally, played with warmth and credibility by Vivienne Rees.

Gary Mitchinson and Lee Wood, as two boys fated to become (and remain) mice, threw themselves into the play, as did Paul Nelson and Ros Helliwell, as a couple of utterly revolting Brummy parents, and Alison Bailey, a seriously superior and scary Grand High Witch.

Most encouraging was the opportunity to see a cast of widely varying talent, experience and age working as an enthusiastic and supportive team. They clearly got as much enjoyment from the show as the appreciative audience.

February 13, 2003 10:30