EASTER pantos have become a bit of a fixture on the commercial theatre calendar, and it’s easy to see the appeal. Regal Entertainment - now also part-operators of the Epstein - specialise in the genre, which fits right at home in the Edwardian surrounds of the venue. With a big dollop of vaudevillian, music hall-style romp, this Jack & the Beanstalk really revels in its old-school silliness.
There’s no big names in the cast, but the ensemble works well. As Jack, Timothy Lucas has great stage presence as the convincing scrappy Scouse underdog, with Lewis Devine as Simple Simon channelling classic Lee Evans in fast forward mode throughout. Maddie Hope Coelho brought a touch of class as the princess (or “me dead fit biiird”, as Jack would have it).
There’s riffs on modern musicals like Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and Matilda as well as singalong classics from Half a Sixpence, with snippets of crowd pleasers like Gangnam Style and Don’t Stop Me Now - these guys know their theatre references, and throw everything at the wall in an effervescent explosion of silliness and song.
Its saucy, end-of-the-pier humour is a bit too risqué in part, some of the jokes are positively ancient even for panto, and the dialogue could be rushed and unclear at times - but the spectacle of the big numbers and stunning costumes - especially for dame Mark Two - are a joy. This is traditional panto like I remember it from childhood, and the nostalgia hit is a blast.
