Jack and the Beanstalk

Brierley Hill Musical Theatre Company’s “Jack and the Beanstalk” had everything that you need from a riotous great evening (or matinee!) out at the Panto! The talent, the irreverence, the comedy, the ad-libbing, the great songs and dances and the requisite Panto set pieces – all were superbly represented in Jo Gresswell’s fast paced telling of the famous panto staple.

Sally Evans’ choreography and Richard Skilbeck’s musical direction were a rich vein of talent running through the production, their version of ‘Footloose’ was a huge success with the audience – helped in no end by the artistry and great singing voice of Rachel Gresswell’s Jack Trot, our eponymous hero and complemented beautifully by Jess Skidmore’s thoughtful and caring Princess Rose. Krystian Warton’s Silly Billy was a joy to watch as he thoroughly entertained the anticipatory younger members of the audience with his tomfoolery and manic portrayal – not forgetting some of the more near the knuckle antics which delighted the older panto devotees. Krystian relished the comedy opportunities from an hilarious routine milking the cow and dowsing the audience with water, not forgetting the great slapstick moments involving quantities of baked beans and flour. Chris Psaras was having a ball as Dame Trot, and his infectious portrayal had the audience on his side from the off – he could do no wrong in their eyes and played it for all he was worth. Great use of the auditorium, bringing the action not only to the delight of the excited onlookers but cleverly used to cover efficient and frequent scene changes, executed by a well drilled Stage Crew safe in the hands of Joshua Hawkins and Peter Hazelwood and team.

Meg Luckins’ The Vegetable Fairy and Steve Taylor’s The Wicked Henchman made a great pairing bouncing insult and innuendo off each other to great effect. The Royal Court was in the safe hands of Tom Ruff’s King Satupon with his Black Country humour and delivery as he deftly dealt with the incompetence of the comedy partnership of Liam Pinches’ Sergeant Spick and Ben Cooper’s Corporal Span sparking brilliantly off each other. Briefly but very effectively appearing were James Lawley as Giant Blunderbore and Rebecca Thorne as his wife, Madame Blunderbore demonstrating great comic timing with a touch of underlying evil to great effect.

You cannot have “Jack and the Beanstalk” without having Daisy the Cow and Zac Psaras and Anthony Southall relished in the traditional role and loved by the audience – not in the least for the way they expertly made their way up the Civic Hall steps from the auditorium to the stage – no mean feat (or should that be hooves?)

The show was underpinned by an energetic and hard-working ensemble of all ages who had a whale of a time as they joined in enthusiastically with crowd pleasing numbers – a special mention to Andy Skyrme as Clarence Clanger with a tremendous rendition of ‘Dancing in the Street’

Great technical support from Betalite and Black Country Audio added to the enjoyment of the evening as did The Beanstalkers Band under Richard Skilbeck’s direction, joining in, even when the threat of being soaked by Silly Billy!

Thanks to everyone at Brierley Hill MTC for their lovely welcome and I look forward not only to their next production of “Grease” in the autumn but next year’s Panto, “Snow White”

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