The much-beloved Nottingham Playhouse pantomime reaches new heights this year with a giant of a show. Yes, it's Jack and the Beanstalk...
Isaac: Mama, how bad do you think the baddy will be? Will they be scary? Will you be scared?
Me: Very bad, I hope… I don’t know, maybe…yes, I probably will be… what about you?
Repeat ad infinitum.
Our tastes may differ somewhat – at the theatre bar I order a sauvignon blanc, Isaac chooses a blue slushie – but we certainly agree on one thing: The way to tell how good a pantomime is? By how bad the baddy is, of course.
Thrills, spills, non-stop jokes and much festive merriment make this year’s Playhouse pantomime, written and directed by Adam Penford, one of the very baddest – and best – yet.
The villainous Fleshcreep, bedecked in a ‘wicked’ colour palette of green and black, delights the audience each time he enters stage – especially when accompanied by his talented troupe of young minions. Played by Tom Hopcroft, Fleshcreep is an archetypal pantomime baddy – a misunderstood villain with hidden depths – and the audience can’t get enough of him.
You know that a Playhouse pantomime is always going to deliver on age-appropriate humour, with pun after pun after pun landing brilliantly across all segments of the multi-generational audience.
The costumes and set are something to behold
Even when all doesn’t go entirely to plan, the crowd remains enthralled. “What happens now?,” wonders Dame Daisy Trott, played by the fabulous John Elkington, before being reminded of her lines by Jill (Jewelle Hutchinson) and Jack (Flinton Flynn). In the ice cream sequence, a big favourite of ours, a prop mishap provides additional humour to an already amusing sketch.
The costumes and set are something to behold – we stop counting at Dame Daisy Trott’s eighth outfit change, but our favourites remain her bodacious green bean attire and the sleek Shirley Bassey-esque showstopper that she sports towards the end of the performance.
The dazzling Fairy Godmother, played by Caroline Parker, communicates via BSL as well as spoken word, with fully BSL interpreted performances dotted throughout December. There are also dedicated captioned, audio described, relaxed and dementia friendly performances – check the Playhouse website for details. The fantastic Alice Redmond plays Pat, the Trott family’s beloved cow, with the voices of Sir Ian McKellen as Giant Blunderbore and Julie Hesmondhalgh as the Talking Harp.
All in all, Jack and the Beanstalk’s inclusivity and comedy combine with a clever selection of contemporary tunes and one-liners (‘brat summer,’ anyone?) to create a glorious journey celebrating the very best of pantomime tradition.
Jack and the Beanstalk runs from Friday 29 November 2024 to Saturday 18 January 2025.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
