Jack and the Beanstalk

The scene was set for Jack and the Beanstalk as soon as we entered the performance space - the whole ceiling was swagged to look like a circus tent, a bunch of balloons were dangling from the centre and fairy lights were strung throughout, the whole effect was magical. The circus theme was carried through perfectly with bright, sparkly colourful costumes and make up. The set was minimal, the usual one door entrance on one side of the stage, a truck was used by the Dame and some one dimensional trees and bushes were used as required, these were mainly moved by cast members. Pace for this whole panto was good, there were no dropped lines or awkward pauses, the songs chosen slotted nicely into the dialogue and were relevant. The performance I saw used Team 1 for the ensemble, they were both well drilled and rehearsed in both choreography and vocals, it was a very clever idea to add in a mini backing group of 3 Divas - it added another level of interest on the stage as well as adding volume and harmony.

The choreography by Cathryn Yates and Jessica Jordan was interesting to watch, on the beat, relative to both the song and scene , the ensemble executed it well, kept their heads up and made a connection with the audience. Sound was good throughout, lighting was sympathetic to the scenes and added some good atmosphere in parts. The costumes were of a very high standard, a combination of both in house wardrobe team and hired in, they were all very sparkly, bright, eye catching and cohesive - exactly what you expect from a pantomime. 

Daisy The Cow was a complete delight both visually from her eyelashes and characteristically down to her dancing hooves. Alice Moran played the Circus Fairy, she did a good job of telling the story, but I would have liked to have seen a little bit more characterisation, light and shade in her performance and dialogue tone, she delivered a pleasant vocal, has a gorgeous smile and controlled her wings while navigating side wings and scenery well. Mrs Blunderbore played by Joanie Edge also (for me) needed a bit more character development. She delivered a strong, strident vocal and elicited some boo's and hisses from the audience, but I personally did feel that there could have been a bit more essence to this character. 

Fleshcreep, played by Christian King, was the baddies underling. He completely enveloped his character and made us feel - we knew he was bad but there was also an edge of vulnerability in his performance. His make up and costume looked amazing on stage and definitely strengthened his portrayal, his whiny nasal voice that he found for this character fitted perfectly, he was creepy and bad, but not scary. He gave us a full bodied physical performance that he should be very proud of. Jack Trott (Deni Griffiths) and Jill Crumble (Jessica Haslam) are no strangers to the stage or working together, their chemistry is evident, they both gave a good, strong , comfortable performance. Jessica gave us some powerhouse vocals with excellent enunciation and connection with both the song and the audience. Deni gave a good vocal performance, a tad pitchy in parts but excusable. A standout moment for me was during his rendition of "Go The Distance" before climbing the beanstalk, bubbles filled the stage and one floated right in front of him for him to grab (it was the equivalent of a Principal Boy thigh slap), a pure Disney style moment of excellence. Deni and Jessica both use the stage well and are very aware of their fellow actors, they both did very well to not corpse during a fairy freeze scene when Dame Tilly Trot (Gary Jones) was gurning right up in their faces.

 
Gary gave us a loud, bright, larger than life performance as Dame T.T, he gave us strong vocals, tons of fabulous facial expressions and a touch of adult innuendo but drew the line before tippling into smut. He used his costumes, wigs, NODA Trophy and stage space well, choreography was good and cleanly executed. He knows exactly how to work an audience and does it with aplomb. Andrew Jordan as Simple Simon was the glue to this whole production, he kept great pace, interacted and ad libbed well with both the audience and Gary and kept us all laughing and on track. He took a very physical part and threw himself completely into it. I particularly enjoyed his song scene for Dame T.T. while she is issuing instructions for the circus tailors, the comedy timing throughout was spot on. Thing One (Daniel Eccles) and Thing Two (Beth Moran) deserve a mention, they kept the ensemble and scenery moving along well and gave great face especially in the Giant's Castle scenes.

The main thing about Panto is that the audience is immediately transported to a magical place, time is forgotten and only the story is important. I can honestly say that all this was achieved, the audience loved it, children were on their feet and joining in. Well Done, The Drama Dept on your performance of Jack and the Beanstalk. Thank you for your hospitality, I look forward to seeing you all again very soon. 

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