Review by Gareth Hides
“A fabulous family pantomime!”
***** FIVE STARS
Panto season is well and truly upon us - oh, yes, it is! Nottingham Playhouse’s seasonal offering delivers plenty of fun, laughter, and quality entertainment for the whole family. The theatre was packed out and the audience were responsive and engaged throughout. This production was written and directed by Adam Penford, the Playhouse’s Artistic Director who spearheaded the recent stellar revival of Dear Evan Hansen (current UK tour). His script hits all the right notes and delivers what audiences expect from a family panto: familiar songs they can sing along to, a generous helping of silliness, and plenty of belly laughs!
Giant Blunderbore (the voice of Sir Ian McKellen) lives in a castle above the clouds and owns most of the land down on the ground in Nottingham. He is hiking up the rent on Dame Daisy Trott’s farm (played by John Elkington) which she can’t afford to pay. Jack (Finton Flynn) is Daisy’s eldest son and is sent to sell the beloved Pat the Cow (Alice Redmond) at market for a good price. Of course, he instead trades the cow for a bag of magic beans after being duped by the evil Fleshcreep (Tom Hopcroft), the giant’s assistant who is cunningly disguised as TV personality Claudia Winkleman! Upon returning home, Dame Daisy chucks the beans through the kitchen window, disappointed in her foolish son. In steps Jack’s Fairy Godmother (Caroline Parker) to save the day, and with the help of the audience’s wishes, a giant beanstalk sprouts in their back garden overnight. Jack must now embark on a rescue mission, along with his sweetheart Jill (Jewelle Hutchinson) and dim younger brother Silly Billy (Bradley Judge), to save Pat the Cow from the clutches of the steak-loving giant.
John Elkington is a seasoned panto pro and brings a masterful performance as Dame Daisy Trott, complete with the compulsory garish costumes (designed by Cleo Pettitt), as audiences would expect. Bradley Judge was also excellent as Silly Billy, along with Tom Hopcroft as Fleshcreep. The whole cast were excellent vocally and shone particularly through the songs. You could tell they were all having lots of fun doing the show together! Finton Flynn and Jewelle Hutchinson brought a simplicity and innocence to Jack and Jill and had the audience rooting for them throughout. Alice Redmond’s Pat the Cow was very funny and on point with her many cow puns. Of note is Caroline Parker’s Fairy Godmother, who as well as functioning as a narrator to move the story along, lifted the production with her sign singing, particularly in the song “Shine”. Parker’s BSL and spoken performance really seemed to engage the audience, though perhaps disappointing to see that only three performances will be BSL interpreted, particularly with Nottingham’s large deaf community.
John Morton’s small but capable band provided a full sound for the musical numbers throughout. The ‘Young Chorus’ of local young performers supported the principal cast as Fleshcreep’s cronies, farmhands and even clouds! Their choreography was slick and their performance resonated with younger members of the audience - my eight-year-old daughter included!
There was nothing I could criticise about this brilliant pantomime. The show brings plenty to the party for young and old alike. Get your tickets for this GIANT festive treat while you still can!
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