Pantomime Review: Jack and the Beanstalk - Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh ✭✭✭✭
Review by Graeme Shield
The leaves have barely fallen off the trees
and yet a bloomin’ big beanstalk has sprouted proudly from the Brunton Theatre
in Musselburgh as they present this year’s pantomime, ‘Jack & The
Beanstalk’.
This variation of the story is set in ‘the
Honest Toun’ where a spate of mysterious robberies have left King Angus, Princess
Eva and the townsfolk distressed.
Well-meaning Jack is tasked by his Mammy to sell their beloved Jean (the
coo) to raise badly needed funds. Not before long, two thieving crooks – Cronk
& Squelch – convince Jack to trade poor Jean for a bag of magic beans. On
finding this out, an enraged Mammy chucks the beans oot the windae, and overnight they grow into a magnificent
beanstalk, stretching high into the clouds and to the castle of an evil
Giant...
It’s all change at the Brunton as incoming
writer & director Mark Cox (of
Still Game/Chewin The Fat fame) overloads his script with local references and
skews the well-told tale with daftly surreal humour (which this reviewer loved).
The set & costume design by Robin
Peoples is imaginative and sumptuous, and are brought to life with
excellent lighting design by Simon Hayes.
James
Rottger’s Jack is charming, daft and
likeable (and a few of the teenage girls nearby certainly didn’t mind his
looks!) and Kim Shepherd gives life
to a by-the-numbers Princess Eva, and her singing is an absolute joy. Shonagh
Price is fun as Wee Margaret, Rodney
Matthews gives good gusto as the not-so-jolly Giant, while Robert Read’s great dame Mammy is
perfectly played. The show also benefits
from the comedy pairing of Richard
Conlon and Mark McDonnell as
Cronk & Squelch who are absurd, hapless and not particularly villainous.
The audiences will lap up all the usual
staples of the pantomime – sweeties flung to the baying crowds, an energetic singalong,
a sprinkling of rhyming couplets and plenty of opportunities (where the script
allows) for audience interaction. The
more discerning panto connoisseur (a ridiculous oxymoron) may lament that the rigid
direction dampens potential moments of exciting improvisation while some
elements that should feel tight and well-rehearsed, were a bit watery around
the edges.
In addition, the show could have benefited
from a few more well known songs to really give the audience something to enjoy
– indeed, the only two musical moments that stood out were a note-perfect
Shepherd singing Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” and Read & Matthews’ hilarious
take on one of this year’s biggest hits “All About That Bass”.
These are minor footnotes, however, in what
is a very enjoyable pantomime from the Brunton. Whereas previous years have
presented productions that have been more than the sum of their parts, this
year producer Lesley Smith has
wisely combined her excellent cast with a much tighter script and superb production
values.
It’s worth remembering that you’ll pay twice
as much for an experience half as good in other venues, so trade a few beans
and sell the coo for your tickets to ‘Jack & The Beanstalk’ at the Brunton
before it’s too late.
‘Jack & The Beanstalk’ is at The Brunton
Theatre, Musselburgh until 3rd Jan 2015 (including a 2pm
autism-friendly performance on Sat 3rd Jan).
Tickets start from £14.75 and are available
from www.thebrunton.co.uk or by phoning the Box Office on 0131 665
2240
