Jack and the Beanstalk- A Giant of a Pantomime

Jack and the Beanstalk is an English fairy tale, which tells the story of a young man named Jack whose mother has come on hard times, out of desperation she is forced to sell their beloved cow which Jack takes to market, on his way he is tricked into selling the cow for a handful of magic beans, these magic beans mysteriously grow over night into a giant beanstalk which when jack climbs he encounters a magical world where he meets a giant, not so big in this production and riches his family could only dream about. Recent studies have found that the story of Jack and the Beanstalk is thought to date back to some 5,000 years and the first pantomime of Jack and the Beanstalk was first performed in 1918 at Dury Lane, the story has come a long way since its origin and it certainly had a good airing at Deptford and Milfield Community Centre when Sunderland Theatre Company chose this pantomime by Nigel Holmes as their annual festive performance “Oh yes they did”. As the winners of last year’s pantomime performance award for District 4 I was so looking forward to see what this group would do this year and from the sell-out audience reaction and the commitment and talent of this group I was not disappointed. Director Brian Leach assisted by Shauna Leihan certainly added all of the important ingredients that made this fun filled family pantomime remarkable, I loved the musical number choices and sound effects which were perfect and brought the performance to life, the set looked fantastic thanks to the cloths by Seaton Delaval Art Centre, the imaginative props by Angela and Derek Crooks and the magic beanstalk from Spennymoor Stage and Song these all added to the mystery and overall visual appearance of this production.

To complete the production team I must congratulate Brian for the superb lighting plot you can never underestimate the value of having a good lighting as this can certainly create an atmospheric  mood for each scene and thanks to Jack Richardson he captured Brian’s vision perfectly as did Northern Productions on sound and finally Alan Graham and Muriel Harrison for costumes these were superb I forgot to count the number of changes Dame Trotter went through but there were many and Fairy Bluebells costume was stunning.

The principal line up was impressive, each cast member put their all into their characters, Aaron Hastings was fantastic as Fleshcreep, great characterisation and facial expressions, his costume looked awesome  and he certainly had the audience’s flesh creeping each time he appeared on stage, this was a very confident performance from this young man and vocally he delivered his musical numbers with great poise and assertiveness I especially liked “Goldfinger” and his number with the villagers “Don’t Stop Me Now”, Fairy Blue Bell was elegantly played by Molly Stubbs who’s role was to narrate the story this was a believable performance from this young lady and certainly made a big impression every time she appeared vocally she delivered her musical numbers well I loved her opening number “Once Upon A Dream” and the beautiful number “Pure Imagination” which was confidently delivered. Gabrielle Smith delivered a confident performance as Jack great interaction with the audience and confident stage presence from this young lady I loved her musical number “Go The Distance”  which was delightfully sang, playing the part of Jill was Chloe Douglass who work well with Gabrielle great interaction and a convincing performance again vocally some lovely numbers especially “Holding Out For A Hero” with the villagers, her solo number “Good Night” and her duets with Gabrielle “ Rewrite The Stars” and “Start Of Something New”. A stand out performance by Mathew Clarke as Simple Simon who for me was pinnacle to this production, Mathew has a natural stage ability he had excellent stage presence and drew the audience in each time he appeared on the stage great comic ability and enthusiasm and kept the production moving vocally had some of the funniest musical numbers especially his number with the villagers “Life’s a Happy Song” and “Milking Daisy” well done on a sterling performance. The comic duos were played by Drains R Us employees Hannah Brettell as Snot and Lois Smith as Bogie excellent interaction between these two young performers who delivered a confident performance loved their musical numbers “The Drain Men” and “Its Draining Men” with Simple Simon. Playing Jack and Jill’s beautiful mother was no other than Nathan Dippie as Dame Trott, the Dame is for me an essentially character and at the heart of every pantomime and Nathan delivered this role fantastically he had exuberance energy and a great sense of humor and had the natural ability to interacting with the audience delivering the essential innuendoes and over the top  sparkle as a Dame should have and he looked great in the range of over the top costumes, vocally I loved his musical numbers “Nine Till Five” with the villagers and  his solo number “Hot Stuff” a great performance from this talented performer. Paying the part of The Squire and Alexa the magic harp was Kristan Bailey this young man has grown in confidence and has clearly established himself as a confident performer well done I am sure we will see a lot more of this young man in the future. Playing Daisy the Cow was Daniel Dryden and Jorden Hildrew not sure who was the front or the rear but they certainly were very tactical when maneuvering this animal around the stage, Luke Riley played the part of the Ghost once again a good strong performance and it was good to hear that Brian Leach still had a cameo role as the Giants voice but the high light was when the Giant was finally revealed to be that of  Archie Rodgerson this young man certainly enjoys his time on stage and it was clear from the audience reaction that they appreciated his contribution to this production

No show is complete without a strong chorus in this case the villagers all of whom supported and ensured that this pantomime was delivered professionally thanks to Janice Farrow, Amber Hastings and Samantha Kennedy I loved the full ensemble numbers especially “At The CO-OP” which was dedicated in appreciation to the financial donation from the CO-OP to purchase a new sound system, and “I’m A Believer” which I thought was an excellent finally number. Special mention also must go to the panto song with Dame Trott and Simple Simon this is always a children’s performance pleaser and my favorite number “If I Was Not In Pantomime” this had the audience rocking in their chairs well done to everyone, hard work pays off and it’s so good to see that traditional pantomimes are as ever popular great entertainment and well delivered, congratulations to everyone on a superb performance and I can wait to see you all in Jesus Christ Superstar

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