Jack and the Beanstalk

This Ormskirk Pleasure Folk traditional pantomime production of the old British story ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’, was apparently written some time ago by members of the society and recently updated to fit in with the present time. The show opened to a colourful rendition of the opening chorus ‘Once a Year Day’ Involving the whole cast and chorus. There were some enjoyable performances from the cast along with plenty of happy smiling faces. The cast included Lisa Proctor who was secure as the central character of Jack with Liz Wainwright as the squire’s daughter Lucy. Gemma Briscoe was an enthusiastic Jill, Jacks sister and Steve Rutter played a lovely goofy Simple Simon. Steve Coghlan was suitably conniving and devious as Squire Grabbit while Antonio Valente and Heather Bailey were very funny and entertaining as Bill and Ben his henchman They should be congratulated as Heather only took over the part of Ben three weeks before the performance, yet in spite of this they were both able to work well together and made a very good comedy duo.  Jim Briscoe as Dame Dumpling had the occasional problem with his lines but in the spirit of pantomime he was able to get over this problem comically. He also worked very hard to get the audience involved in the action with great success. Michelle Hopwood as Fairy Starlight kept the audience up to date with the story, and Maureen Bridge was Grim the Giants servant. Mark Bennison also stepped in at the last minute to don the giant suite and along with Kevin Bridge was a lovable Daisy the cow. Representing the younger performers we had Robyn Bradnock as Kate who had very good stage presence and Phoebe Halbert who played the Gypsy.
 

Although the action was a little slow at the beginning of the pantomime it gained momentum as the show progressed with the audience joining in with the dancing,  boos, cheers and the usual ‘it’s behind you’ and ‘Oh no he didn’t’. The cast performed with plenty of energy and enthusiasm and it was nice to see a wide range of ages being encouraged and included on the stage with young performers working alongside the more experience actors. Diction was very good, all the cast could be heard so the dialog could be followed easily.
 

The music was an eclectic mix of the old and new and the cast were accompanied by backing tapes and a small band which was lead very capably by Musical Director Nancy Wells. Choreography was undertaken by Heather Furnivall and fitted in well with the production and the age of the cast.  Costumes and the set were very colourful, effective and suitable for the production.
 

Well done to Director Gemma Briscoe for an enjoyable show and well done to all involved including stage crew, Sound, lighting and front of house staff. This was my first visit to a pantomime this Christmas season and this production got me off to a fine start. Thank you for inviting me I hope to see you for your next production.

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