Jack and The Beanstalk

Jack and the Beanstalk:  is set in the land of Merrydale and tells the story of how the wicked Giant wants to eat the King and the villagers. It’s a story with lots of twists and turns, the magic beans, the love story, the slapstick and a sassy fairy sets the scene and appears occasionally to narrate the links in the story. 

The scenery, set and props were amazing and had been well crafted and were effectively used.  The transition between scenes was smooth.  The Giant was particularly impressive and cleverly constructed and operated as was the hot air balloon.  The growing beanstalk also deserves a special mention.  The backdrops: castle, town square etc were effective and the scene changes were efficiently executed. 

The costumes, hair and make up were high quality.  I particularly liked Daisy the cow. All the costumes were in keeping with their characters.    Dame Trot had some vibrant costumes and wigs.

The lighting was effective and the special effects were fantastic, particularly the echo for the Giant’s voice. The cast were well supported by musicians Frank Bell and Simon Gardner and the singing was delightful.

There was a huge amount much to enjoy in this pantomime.   The talent of the performers was evident throughout.  The cast were strong and everyone had great vitality.  There were some spirited performances especially from the characters: Jack, Jill, the King and Billy.  There was great rapport with the audience.  Mark Winter as Dame Trot gave us plenty of laughs as did Clive Slatter as Fleshcreep (the giant’s henchman).  The slapstick scene in the dairy was pure magic.     It’s all joyful nonsense with lots of laughs for adults as well as the kids. With direction from David McLaren and Kate Llewellyn ODS have hit on a winning formula - high energy and enthusiastic fun - with this panto and should be proud to add this show to their list of successes.

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