The Dream Dealer
The Dream Dealer
Mid-Summer Stage at St. Austell Arts and Community Centre
Originally commissioned by a London school back in 2001, this musical play by Harriett
Petherick and Maritta Phillips has now travelled as far afield as Kuwait. This summer
local children signed up to perform the show in St. Austell and, following weeks of
workshops and rehearsals, the curtain finally came up.
A moralistic tale, told with kick ass toons that the young cast clearly loved performing, the
Dream Dealer is a Pied Piper of our times. Hanging around outside the school gates waiting
to sell kids his sinister Ice Dreams and stealing bits of their souls along the way. Richard
Good was so convincingly sinister as the evil Dealer, that he even had me scared. Jill
Greenacre was superb in her role of Flake, the Dealer's assistant, a lost soul who succumbed
to the Dealer's wares and was now his slave. Austin Howard-Brown beautifully portrayed
Mr. Turpentine, a scatty, but caring Art Teacher.
But the real stars of the show were the children, who danced, sang and acted their way
through a clever script involving school gangs, peer pressure, loneliness and bullying. Fine
performances from everyone involved proved, once again, the abundance of talent we have in
our midst.
Sheila Vanloo
August 2009
