Kind hearted students offer some festive cheer

Students at the Nantgarw campus of Coleg y Cymoedd have again showcased their skills at this year’s Rhondda Cynon Taf pantomime, Peter Pan; which toured the County Borough over the festive period.

This is the third year that students studying on the Costume Construction for Screen & Stage Foundation Degree course at the college have worked in partnership with RCT Theatres to create a wardrobe of magical costumes for the cast. For months the dedicated students have been busy behind the scenes; working to tight deadlines, designing costumes for the performance.

Second year student Alicia Lording said “Producing the outfits for the cast has been hard work but very rewarding. It’s one thing making costumes but when they are for use in a pantomime you have to consider practical elements such as are they comfortable, washable and of course are they durable to last the duration of the pantomime season! I decided to make the Pearly Queen costume for Nanny McSmee and worked with Frank Vickery, the pantomime Dame, to ensure he was happy with the finished product.

Course Leader, Emma Highgate commented “I was delighted when Geoff Cripps contacted the college to ask if the students would be involved with the production of Peter Pan. Of course, we jumped at the opportunity as it gives the students the opportunity to work on a live project and to experience the challenges of working to extremely tight deadlines. Our students thoroughly enjoyed the project and were obviously proud of their hard work; this was evident from the smiles on their faces as they watched their costumes come to life on stage”.

Professional costume designer, Steve Denton who worked on this production stated “I could not believe the high standard of the finished costumes. They looked absolutely amazing on stage and I thought that all of the students were professional and showed a lot of potential as well as talent; considering that they are only in the second year of their degree.”

The pantomime certainly captivated the audience with the fabulous special effects, colourful costumes, songs and music and a handful of ‘fairy dust’ from Tinkerbell!

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