REVIEW: Jack and the Beanstalk - The Queens Theatre 15/12/14

Full to the brim with over the top acting, cheesy songs and corny jokes Jack and the Beanstalk at the Queens Theatre this Christmas has everything necessary for a perfect pantomime. A very enthusiastic audience paired with the endless cries of "boooo" and "he's behind you" meant that Mondays trip to the theatre was one that not only took me back to my childhood but had myself, and many others, clapping along in their seats (or out of them- yes I'm talking to you girls on the balcony who were dancing their way through the night!)

picture credit: http://www.northdevongazette.co.uk/what-s-on/panto_review_jack_and_the_beanstalk_at_the_queen_s_theatre_barnstaple_1_3887583

As well as their own rendition of the 12 days of Christmas which included "seven bouncing bras", "3 devon sausages" and "a water pistol just for fun" the whole performance was all about the involvement of the audience. I'm not going to lie to protect my dignity, I did as Silly Simon told me to do and welcomed him onstage by saying "hi hi hi Si!", did all the correct hand movements and sung and danced to his song during the second half. I saw my friend Meg there from School and there really is no age limit- she was messaging me after asking me the words to the songs so she could sing them at home!

Try as I might I simply could not work out how they created the Giant in the second half. He seemed to loom over the whole audience and was able to walk and move across the stage in the same manner as the rest of the humans alongside him. The same goes for the beanstalk which was inflated to create this huge feeling of the stalk proceeding out the top of the building and into the sky. It was then deflated as Jack chopped down the beanstalk as if it had fallen to the ground. These special additions made it one of the best pantomimes I have seen to date.

For a poor women Dame Trott seemed to appear in the most astounding outfits in each scene and well and truly stole the show. A personal favourite of mine was her Ginger Spice outfit where she (he) waltzed onto the stage with a fantastic ginger wig paired with a dress covered in the Union Jack. I'm not sure how easy it was to walk in the matching heels though!

The Giants assistant, appropriately named Fleshcreep, was also fantastic. Played by Mark Little the script writers even managed to go back to his roots and make a Neighbours joke towards the ending! He was booed at without any prompts and every single shout was well deserved, he was one very believable bad guy but one that had us in stitches of laughter.

Jack and the Beanstalk is a classic fairytale and this production really did do the original story justice. With it's own special and more modern twists the show is fun for all the family and should be an absolute must this Christmas time. 

Tickets are still available and the show continues up until January 3rd. You can purchase tickets here by clicking on the following link:

https://uk.patronbase.com/_NorthDevonTheatres/Productions/1GIA/Performances