Jack and the Beanstalk

You’ve done it again Pickering Musical Theatre, another truly amazing evening spent with a packed house. Luke Arnold and has his creative team have created another masterpiece which is truly worth a trip to see. Yet again I find myself struggling to pick an aspect of the show in which to write about first. I think one of the biggest triumphs of the show had to be the staging which often gets neglected in reviews. The back drops and set were well thought out and used but with the added brilliance of collapsible houses, actual growing beanstalks and a very literal giant set, it really allowed the stage to be used to maximum affect. The use of colours and in some instances fluorescent paint really brought alive the ambiance that was trying to be created.

The musical numbers yet again were fabulous, and the quality of sing was sublime, Clive Wass must have put many hours in to bring the singing into such an excellent level with the combination of an enthusiastic live band. Some of my favourite songs being Yorkshire, Colour my World, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines and Once a Year Day. I think one of the best singing performances had to be from the Blue Fairy (Rachel Anderson), her voice was so beautiful it really brought light to her character. The added movement and choreography from Sarah Louise Ashworth Dance School and Maureen Symonds brought the music to life and it was truly breath-taking watching the young dancers incorporated so well into the show. I certainly enjoyed the tap dance routine within Tap Your Troubles Away number and couldn’t believe the level of professionalism by the dancers especially the two dancers doing the solo tap routines.

The cast yet again gave an excellent performances and wonderful characterisation was shown by Danielle Long and Rosie Hodgson as Jack and Sally with a truly heart-warming story throughout. No pantomime is complete without the Pantomime Dame in this instance Marcus Burnside portrayed the vivacious and exuberant Widow Bumble in such a way that every member of the audience had a smile on their face. I don’t think this review would be complete without including the comedic duo of Stephen Temple playing Archie and Paula Taylor playing Nellie. They were fabulously comical and brought a whole new level to the show with the amazing quick whited characters you would of thought they were made to act opposite each other. I often found myself wondering when these two would be back on stage to continue their cat and mouse relationship. I don’t think I can put into words how much I truly enjoyed watching them.

No story would be complete without the Bad Guys and in this story, we had two, the Ogre played by John Brooks and Lady Ramsbottom (the mother of Nellie and Sally) played by Linda Tester. These two both played their characters excellently and I certainly saw more than one child jump when they heard the Ogres voice. Linda Tester worked so well with the audience to enhance her character and was certainly a pleasant addition to the group.

This show had everything and more of what you would  want from a panto; vibrant costumes, audience participation, excellent musical numbers and just for good measure and excellent tap dancing cow. I didn’t think it was possible to enjoy a panto as much as I did with this show. Every element was carefully planned, engineered, and delivered. Everyone involved should be so proud of their involvement in it. I hope the rest of performances go as well as the night I saw it did.

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