Jack and The Beanstalk

This was a traditional family pantomime with a ‘baddy’ to boo, a fairy to keep the balance of good and evil, a principal boy in love with a girl above his station in life, a silly brother, tax collectors, an outrageous dame, colourful costumes, corny jokes, lots of audience participation and of course in this one, the loveable cow Buttercup.

The backcloths from Scenic and Property Hire were carefully chosen, all well painted and took the audience to each new scene in the story. The stage crew dealt with the scene changes swiftly and efficiently. The Giants castle with the extra large table, chair and teapot gave an indication of the giant’s size. The lighting had been well designed and was well cued; I particularly liked the effect with the ‘Tap Dancing Ghosts’ with smoke and lighting.

The costumes were colourful helping to create that special Pantomime feel to the show. As ever, the ‘dame’, in this instance Dame Tilly Trot, out shone everyone, with the many changes of costume, wigs and accessories. That of Grotviler, the Giant’s sidekick really helped him exude pure evil. The sets of costumes for the young dancers were lovely, especially the silvery white with trailing leaves, that they wore for the ‘Beanstalk Growing’ dance; the costumes for the finale were impressive, particularly Jack’s.

The music had been well chosen and in some places gave a very modern feel to the show. The music supplied by keyboard and drums complemented the voices. Helen Harris and Jodie Dwight had worked hard on the singing resulting in lively chorus numbers and pleasing solos and duets.

As always with this company there was a mix of ages and experience of performers, with everyone working with enthusiasm. The Trot family with mother, Dame Tilly, sons Jack, the sensible one and Simple Simon (well, it is all in the name), along with Buttercup their cow were a lovely unit. Mum, Tilly, showing a ‘maternal side’ and a great deal of experience in engaging with the audience.  Principal Boy, Jack was confident in the role and working well with Jill, the charming daughter of the snobbish Lady Lotsadosh. The both sang well and with feeling. Then there was Simple Simon, beloved by the children in the audience as he rewarded their responses by lobbing packets of sweets their way with his tennis racquet. Of course Buttercup the cow won the hearts of everyone.  She moved very well and created lots of fun when she was milked and produced lots of ‘cream’, which ended up in people’s faces. The audience enjoyed booing the very evil Grotviler, and were entertained by the efforts of a very green ‘Fairy Haricot Vert, who worked to combat evil. This was a nice twist on the usual fairy as she came complete with French accent, beret and magic wand that, instead of the usual star on the end had a variety of objects, which kept changing, including croissants and the Eiffel Tower.

The Mayoress was the cause of a big problem for the Trots, as she was demanding the taxes they owed, but of course such a distinguished personage could not stoop to actually collecting them, that was left to Grabbit and Leggitt. They worked well together, but their inexperience showed in their lack of projection, I missed some of their lines. The other principals gave solid performances especially young George, Simple Simon’s friend, who had excellent diction and stage presence.  The chorus supported the principals, reacting well, singing and moving with enthusiasm.   Generally the lines were well delivered but there were occasions when projection and diction were poor; there were some issues with the delivery and timing of jokes; and the picking up of cues was a little slow in places. I am sure these would have improved as the run progressed.

The young dancers performed confidently, with interesting choreography, although I felt some of the dances might have been shorter, as they added to length of the show. They had lots of smiles and were an excellent start to the show. Their scene as ‘tap dancing ghosts’ was unexpected and enjoyed by the audience.

There was a great deal of audience response the evening I was there, and the young Brownies in front of me certainly enjoyed the pantomime and left the Theatre on a high. Everyone had worked very hard.

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