Floral Pavilion and Martin Dodd for UK Productions bring Jack and The Beanstalk to the Floral Pavilion for the festive period. A well-known panto that has been told in many ways and this is no different.
We follow the Trott family who are poor and are trying to find the money to survive and pay the £1000 the King (Tom Sterling) tells them they need to pay. So, they must sell their beloved Sandra Bullock, The Cow (Amy Walker) at market. Along the way we are introduced to many characters, such as Flesh Creep (Joseph Elliot), The Vegetable Fairy (Hayley Tamaddon) and Princess Jill (Rachel Grundy).
The Trott family are made up of Dame Trott played by Oliver Brooks, Simple Simon played by Sean Jones and the title character, Jack, played by the wonderful Joe Sleight.
The set for Jack and The Beanstalk is brilliant, large, and colourful and very inviting in the Panto world, transported from Boggy Bottom village to the Trott kitchen and the Giant’s castle and many scenes in between. This is brought to life by the wonderful lighting, designed by Jimmi Richardson, which is extremely impressive.
Written by Chris Fearn, I felt this year it fell a little flat. There seemed to look like there was a huge amount of content in there but overall, it seems like there is a lot of ‘filler’ but not much story. The storyline doesn’t seem to flow and jumps all over the place without taking us anywhere. There are a lot of songs in this version but again, seem like they are there just to fill in, possibly to aid in the set changes. Songs, which for the most are not very well known or memorable, causing most of the audience to lose interest. Many of the jokes are missed by the children in the audience, causing them to switch off. These are the audience members that needs to be kept engaged all through, this could be their first visit to the theatre.
Andrew Margerison directs this piece, and it is Choreographed by Aaron Ashley Parker. They have tried to incorporate many of the traditional Panto traits, but I feel on this occasion, there seem to have tried to add too many in and for me all felt a little flat. This could be due to it being their opening night, but overall, I felt it is too long and needs a lot of tightening up right throughout.
I enjoyed most of the choreography, and I liked the fact they used a local dance school, Hoylake School of Dance. There were a few songs which I enjoyed a lot, especially their version of Sorry, Not Sorry and Musical Director, Alice Brown, has done a wonderful job with the vocals.
Joe Sleight stands out in this production, bringing the traditional lead to life with wonderful acting and stunning vocals.
The most enjoyable part to this performance is the 3D effects in the second act which are impressive and had the audience cheering and screaming.
This panto includes some enjoyable moments but for me needs a fair bit of work and tightening up to make it more engaging.
Running until 7th January 2024. Tickets available at www.floralpavilion.com
Reviewer Damian Riverol
Reviewed: 9th December 2023
North West End UK Rating: