Jack & The Beanstalk

A thoroughly enjoyable time was had by all at Steeple Bumpstead's village hall when the Players performed their 2015 pantomime "Jack & The Beanstalk"!  Chris Pollington, as script-writer, and Ben Butcher, as director, brought a refreshingly creative and witty interpretation of this fanciful tale to the stage, without losing any of our much-loved British panto traditions.  It was all there, in abundance, from the prologue with Jack and brother Jolly Johnny returning home with Daisy the Cow, to the final scene when Jack is crowned as the rightful heir to the throne, following the demise of good King George and the ousting of Baron Badperson as the scheming contender.

The set was simple, but effective, with well-painted backdrops of the village square and market place, interior of Jack's mother's cottage kitchen, and the giant's castle dungeons, augmented with a gauze curtain depicting the castle walls and nearby woodland walk.  All the scene changes were slick, ensuring a good pace throughout the performance, all well-managed by Nigel Lambert Jones and Daniel Hughes, with good lighting and sound effects well-cued by Simon Pollington and John Katzaros.  Wardrobe mistress Josien Woolmer had provided costumes which were colourful and appropriate, with make-up by Helen Hughes, which complimented the various characters visual appearance.  The imaginative use of props, too, helped to greatly enhance the action, for instance the synchronised cabbages popping up from the kitchen worktop during the song extolling the virtues of cabbage soup!  Hilarious!

Without exception, the cast were confident in their roles and carried the audience along with them, right from the start.  Jess Dickinson impressed as Jack, the hero of the story, nicely supported by Becca Butcher as Jack's brother Jolly Johnny, with Georgina Hingston and Freya Lambert as the two parts of whimsical Daisy the Cow.  Their scenes together were delightfully choreographed.  Good support, too, from Sarah Perry as Daisy's Fairy Godmother.

David Meechan as failing King George and Triss Pollington as his Queen were suitably regal, accompanied by Eleanor Hughes as Isobel, the Queen's handmaiden, who gets caught up in Jack's adventures and ultimately wins Jack's hand in marriage.  There was a nice contrast between the court jesters, Ed Traylen, portrayed as happy, the other, Lilo Phillips, sad and soulful and Jonathan Lowe, in addition to providing the live musical accompaniment with other family members Theresa and Georgina, doubling up as both court jester and freaky monster in the giant's castle in Act II!

Jacob Parrot put in a fine comedy performance as Dame Delilah, Jack's mother, as did Robin Hughes as villainous Baron Badperson, aided and abetted by Sheila Bronson as the Baron's useless side-kick Herman the Henchman.  The Baron's two less-than-adorable ugly sisters were well-played by Steve Woolmer as Wilhelmina, and David Phillips as Charlotte.  In contrast, Stephanie Manning brought a touch of naivety and attractiveness to her role as the third sister Henrietta.  Other cameo roles were provided by Joanne Smith, Tony Evans, Jeff Bronson and Daniel Hughes.

There was a well-chosen mix of musical numbers interspersing the action, which Theresa Lowe as Musical Director had ensured were all well-sung and the Players youth group Junipers provided a pleasing opening chorus number and made other short appearances during the performance.

I must mention, too, the cleverly devised programme.  Instead of the more usual programme format one receives, Chris Pollington had produced a four-sided A5 colourfully printed village magazine, aptly named "Oi, Oi", with all the cast, crew, panto plot and credits highlighted within the various witty news items.  A good and original souvenir of a very enjoyable afternoon's entertainment.

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