Feast on Beauty and the Beast

Well hello my lovely readers and thank you for waiting for me to come back with a new blog!  It has been such a busy few weeks for me.  Lots of homework (groan), festive celebrations (hooray), show auditions (more about that later) and LAMDA examinations (fingers crossed) which have kept me away from my blog, but I have managed to fit in a whole load of amazing shows which I will be blogging about very soon!  In the last two weeks I have been lucky enough to see Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward theatre in London, Dear Evan Hansen at the Noel Coward theatre in London, Curtains the Musical at Wyndhams Theatre in London and this year’s panto of Beauty and the Beast at the Gordon Craig theatre in Stevenage by the always brilliant Jordan Productions.  And it is the panto which I am going to blog about first because, well, it’s that time of year isn’t it?  Running until Sunday 26 January 2020, you’ve still got plenty of time to fit this show into your Christmas and new year holiday planner – it’s great fun!  Of course Paul Laidlaw was starring as the greatest Dame of all time, Dame Dorothea Derriere.  Every year I love to see Paul pull off the damiest of all pantomime dames and this year he did not disappoint.  Aidan O’Neill is also back, this time playing Potty Pierre, and he was hilarious.  He even made my Papa laugh and that’s saying something!  Carli Norris (who my mum says is in EastEnders which I don’t watch but I’m sure loads of you do) played Malevolent (boo hiss).  She turns Prince Gallant into a beast (Alex Scott Fairley) and just doesn’t want anyone to be happy about anything!  Rebecca Vere play the good and very French fairy, Fairy Formidable, and Grace Lancaster makes a beautiful Beauty.

First, I want to say a huge thank you to the amazing Gordon Craig theatre, who are so kind, and invited me to come and see this hilarious pantomime.  My family have made it a tradition to see the Gordon Craig panto every year and each year they seem to get better and better.  Now let’s talk about this one!

I am sure you already know the traditional story of Beauty and the Beast, and this pantomime explained it in a brilliant and exciting way to everyone! It is 100% perfect for everyone- I took my grandparents and they loved it!  My little sisters loved it too – there was something in it for everyone.  The songs, which are popular pop songs, and good ones too, are done brilliantly.  Some songs are adapted in a certain way to leave room for some great dancing, and of course, some fantastic jokes!  This was the only thing my grandparents were confused about as they seemed to think they were stolen from them!  But either way the actors in this pantomime told the jokers way better…sorry papa!

Another thing that is great about this year’s pantomime is the special effects and the costumes adapted to them.  I think they really have upped their game with the special effects, and as a big sister of two, I can say that they really make magic happen for the younger kids in the audience.

As I said just now, the costumes are also brilliant, some of which are beautiful, some of which are downright funny, in the best way ever!  These costumes are another component in making the magic come true.  The choreography, which is by Twist and Pulse again this year, is as good as always.

I asked my little sisters what they enjoyed most about the show.  One of them said she loved the falling plates – “okay ready”, and the other one said she loved the TNT explosion!  So, if you want to see what these things are then you will need to go and see the show for yourself!!  For tickets, call the Gordon Craig  box office on 01438 363200 or visit: www.gordon-craig.co.uk/beauty-and-the-beast-i2119.

Overall, what I can say about this show is that everything was faultless, and the effects and jokes were brilliant.  I fully recommend it to everyone who loves a traditional, feel good, slapstick panto!

Before I go, I am thinking about adding some vlogs to my blogs.  Let me know what you think!

*************************HAPPY HOLIDAYS ONE AND ALL************************

Ariella xx

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it’s off to the panto we go…

It’s panto season again and every year I wonder what new things could possibly be introduced to create another good pantomime.  Surely last year’s was as good as it could get?  Yet every year I am happily surprised and this year was no different.  I was really excited to be invited to Gordon Craig’s pantomime which this year is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  This amazing theatre was kind enough to invite me and my two sisters, and we invited our grandparents to join us!  Now, our Papa was a bit worried because he doesn’t like pantomimes.  In fact, he really didn’t want to go at all but eventually agreed to be dragged along because all four of us (my sisters, me and my nana) were nagging him and coming along was less annoying than our nagging apparently.  Anyway, I can tell you that my papa LOVED the show.  He laughed and laughed and laughed, as did all five of us.

The set was very inventive, making good use of a large stage and, with some very clever craftmanship, wonderfully capturing the look of the seven dwarves’ home.  The seven dwarves were marvellous, their acting perfectly matching their characters, and they were very good when it came to monitoring the audience, such as when to stop and start talking over the heavy applause they received.  Snow White (Hannah Boyce) was very expressive (and beautiful too), and the prince (Matt Lapinksas) was rather charming, but how can we forget the gorgeous stunner of a dame (Paul Laidlaw, returning to the Gordon Craig for the hundredth something time) who was hilarious in the role of Dame Delores Dingbat (aka Dame Dolly).  The evil Queen (Hannah-Jane Fox) was brilliant, and was a very entertaining baddie, with the perfect mix of evilness and jokes, and she interacted with the audience in a great way.  And, of course, back by extreme popular demand, Aidan O’Neill as Herbie the Huntsman, the Dame’s son whose job it is to protect Snow White.  He made some great knee slapper jokes, and had everyone rolling with laughter at his character’s hilarious antics!

The dance, choreographed by Twist & Pulse, was fantastically timed, brilliantly performed and was genuinely creative.  I always enjoy their choreography and was pleased to see them back at the Gordon Craig this year.  The musical score was great too.

Overall, the Gordon Craig theatre and Jordan Production’s Snow White pantomime was one of the best I’ve ever seen and I would HUGELY, HIGHLY, HAPPILY recommend it to everyone and anyone (including my papa).  From what I can see, there are a few tickets left over Christmas and the new year so hurry and book now.  Whatever you think of panto give it a try – it might just change your mind forever!  https://www.gordon-craig.co.uk/snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs-i1899.

By for now then,

Ariella xoxo

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/

Fee Fi Fo Fum, Gordon Craig is number one (for panto)!

‘Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la, la la la la.  Well okay, it might not quite be the season (although the shops have lots of Christmas stuff in them already I’ve noticed) but you would definitely be jolly if you had been treated to a sneak peak of the Gordon Craig theatre’s Christmas 2017 pantomime with Jordan Productions!  I was so excited to have been invited to attend the press day for Jack and the Beanstalk and it did not disappoint me!  The Gordon Craig theatre and Jordan Productions have been producing shows and pantomimes for a few years and last year’s Peter Pan was fantastic.  (You can see my review from last year here: https://gotoashow.wordpress.com/2016/12/03/why-is-peter-pan-always-flying-because-he-neverlands/.  So I had high hopes of another fantastical Christmassy show and I am sure that it is going to be just that.  I haven’t seen the whole production – of course the cast are just starting to rehearse and there will still be lots of costumes to finalise and sets to build – but what I did see at the weekend was great fun, full of the usual pantomime jokes and giggles.  I was lucky enough to be given an opportunity to meet some of the cast members after the sneak peek.  It’s an amazing cast and you might even recognise some (if not all) of them.  Cliff Parisi (who will play Fleshcreep) has been in Eastenders and Call the Midwife (or so my mum tells me as I haven’t watched either of those) and Paul Laidlaw will play Dame Trott.  (This will be Paul’s 31^st year doing panto – can you believe that?!!  That’s more than three times my age!!)  Melanie Masson is Fairy Fuschia, Aidan O’Neill is Simple Simon and Lisa Mathieson will play Jack (yes, she’s playing a boy).  She has been in lots of West End shows which is my dream!!  Twist and Pulse will be doing the choreography like last year.

Having seen a taster of what’s in store, I asked the cast whether the props that we saw had been made just for the sneak peek.  It turns out that the props for the whole show are still in production but the ones we saw were likely to be used in some way too.  I also asked the cast whether they preferred to play a “goodie” or a “baddie” in panto.  Baddies are apparently good fun to play, but being booed all the time can be a bit miserable.  There was no clear winner and I’m not sure what I would pick either to be honest!

Gordon Craig has the longest running pantomime season in the UK.  You can see Jack and the Beanstalk between 1 December 2017 and 28 January 2018.  So you have plenty of time to see it, either before Christmas or as a great start to the new year!  You can buy your tickets here: http://www.gordon-craig.co.uk/jack-and-the-beanstalk-i1642

Pantomimes are always great fun and I am very much looking forward to seeing a few this Christmas if I’m lucky.  You won’t go wrong with Jack and the Beanstalk at Gordon Craig though I’m sure.  The bits that I saw were laugh out loud funny and I came away feeling very Christmassy indeed.  Now, where can I find a mince pie around here…??

Love, Ariella XOXO