Jack and the Beanstalk does Christmas

Back in September I was lucky enough to have a sneak preview of the Gordon Craig theatre’s 2017 pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk (https://gotoashow.wordpress.com/2017/09/19/fee-fi-fo-fum-gordon-craig-is-number-one-for-panto/).  Last week I was lucky again as I was invited to the show’s press night, with my mum and dad and my two little sisters.  We were all very excited to go and see the finished product and it did not disappoint.  My mum is not the world’s biggest pantomime fan.  In fact my mum never goes to the panto if she can possibly help it.  But I did catch her laughing a few times during the performance and I think there might have been some jokes that we kids did not understand…

I’m sure that most of you know the story of Jack and the Beanstalk so I won’t bore you with that.  If you don’t know the story…Google it!!!  Some of you might be thinking that Jack and the Beanstalk would be difficult to put on as a stage show because of the giant.  However, I thought the way that Gordon Craig did this was brilliant.  There is a giant beanstalk on the stage, and there is also a giant…but if you want to see how it’s done, go and see the show!  In this version the part of Jack is actually played by a woman (and brilliantly too) and I thought this was very clever.  In Shakespeare’s day all theatre parts were played by men, so it’s nice to see a lead role that would traditionally be given to a man, be given to a woman instead.  This panto is a great way to kick off the Christmas season and have a fab time with your family.  Also, the dancing and singing was fantastic and I liked it a lot.  The dancing was choreographed by Twist and Pulse who were runners up on Britain’s Got Talent a few years ago.  Like any good pantomime, there was lots of audience participation including a man called Jason who ended up covered in “milkshake” on stage!!  One of my favourite parts was Simple Simon played very well by Aidan O’Neill.  He had a great sense of humour and a brilliant way of interacting with the audience.  Jack’s family – Dame Trott and Simon – were very poor and their greatest possession is their cow, Clarabelle.  Clarabelle was another star of the show; she was very funny and you could almost understand what she was thinking just by looking at her. When I asked my sister who her favourite character in the show was, she said she liked Jack but also Clarabelle – “because she is really funny!!”.  Even my 3 year old sister was giggling all the way through.

There’s gunge, there’s fire, there’s songs, there’s jokes – everything that a great panto needs.  You should definitely go and see it if you can: https://www.gordon-craig.co.uk/jack-and-the-beanstalk-i1642.  Thank you Gordon Craig for inviting me and my whole family to see your awesome pantomime.  You’ve done it again!!

Love Ariella xoxo

PS: don’t forget you can buy theatre tickets in the annual London January theatre sale, Get Into London Theatre.  Booking is open now so go and see that show you’ve always wanted to see!!  https://officiallondontheatre.com/new-year-sale/