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Jack and the Beanstalk

Author: Andrea Keady

Information

Date
28th December 2024
Society
De Caversmill Theatre Company
Venue
Stoke Reparatory Theatre
Type of Production
Pantomime
Director
Ian Hill
Choreographer
Keavy Miller

If the sign of a good panto is a crowd that are bursting to shout before we even start, then Jack & The Beanstalk was destined to be a hit from the off. The crowd were raring to go and were joyfully and vocally part of the show from the very start. In fact, at certain points, I was slightly concerned that some children might do themselves an injury in their quest to deafeningly declare “oh no he isn’t” and “it’s behind you” and the adults weren’t far behind!

Ian Hill (Director) and Rebecca Mills (Assistant Director) gave us a polished production and a traditional panto with all the fabulous elements we expect. Baddies, heroes, comedy, groan worthy jokes; all were there in abundance! One overall observation is that given the enthusiasm of the audience, the actors needed to give a little time before speaking as we lost a little dialogue along the way, though I do appreciate that this was a very involved crowd! Keavy Miller’s choreography was great throughout but was highlighted in a couple of beautiful standalone ballet pieces and a “fiery” group number. The music and song choice was very in keeping but one thing that did seem to need a little attention was how the songs transitioned back into the action; on more the one occasion, a song seemed to come to an extremely abrupt end which was a little jarring.

The set was fantastic throughout but the set change for the finale drew gasps from across the audience including from myself, it was spectacular! Costume was also extremely well done throughout and again, the finale costume change created a memorable vista that everyone took home with them as their final memory of a great night out!

We were treated to some fantastic performances from the cast! The star of the show really has to be Wesley Walker as Simple Simon – a fantastically energetic performance that he put his all into and entertained us until the dying second. His entry catchphrase probably should have been a bit shorter and simpler as those of us having indulged in a few sherberts over Christmas kept forgetting it!

Sue Williams & Alexa Williams gave us very nice performances as Jack & Princess Charlotte and worked very well vocally together. The King & Queen (Martin Popov & Nicola Barton) added the royal presence nicely and then we had Rebecca Mills and Kirsty Heath as Fairy Sugardust & Piccalilli the witch. Nice vocal performances, we did miss a bit of Piccalilli’s dialogue from time to time as the audience sought to take booing to a whole new level! I have no idea if this was intentional, but the fact they were of similar height, not too dissimilar in silhouette and with the clever costuming, they really did look like the two sides of the good & evil coin which was a nice effect.

Nathaniel Forrester-Mills and Russ Williams as Snatchet & Scarper added comedic value every time they appeared (and a nice vocal from Scarper when we heard him!) and Jason Young, Alex Baines and Rob Mills (Humphrey, Buster Gut-Bucket & Rancid the Rat Man) also gave us lovely performances as the other members of this principal cast, all held together in true panto style by the larger than life presence of the dame, Dotty Dimple (Ian Hill). And a shoutout to the 2 actors playing Buttermilk (Sophie Cooke & Olivia Sykes) – doing this always looks such hard work so well done! All the dancers and chorus members did an excellent job adding their expertise to this popular show.

We walked out of the theatre singing the final song to ourselves and spent the drive home having that fabulous post-show conversation about our favourite bits! Is that not the mark of a good night out? Oh yes it is! It is, it is, it is!

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