Review: Jack and the Beanstalk at Bournemouth Pavilion
He’s behind you!!
Oh no he isn’t!
Oh yes he is!!
That’s right – panto season is back with a bang!
Last night we were invited along to the press launch for Jack and the Beanstalk at Bournemouth Pavilion and what a night it was.
When a heinous henchman kidnaps a cow and a princess from the downtrodden town of Boggy Bottom, young Jack finds himself on an adventure he thought only existed in story books!
David Ribi, best known for presenting Milkshake! on Channel 5, plays wholesome hero, Jack. Calum Lill, from Coronation Street’s famous cobbles, is brilliant as the villainous Fleshcreep and and Bournemouth’s favourite comic, Noel Brodie, returns as Silly Simon bringing huge laughs and lots of mayhem as he tries to help his brother Jack on his quest to save the punch-packing princess Princess Jill.
We went with a variety of ages, Lilah the youngest at 5, three tweens / teens all the way up to their 70’s and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves from start to finish. The soundtrack was the perfect mix of pop and musical theatre, with songs inspired by Chappell Roan’s Hot To Go, Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso, all the way to Don’t Lose your Head from SIX and Wicked’s What is this Feeling?
The jokes were laugh-out-loud funny, with plenty of innuendo to keep the adults as entertained as the kids and the 3D section in the second half really brought the giant to life. If you have young children, they might not want to wear the special glasses, as there are spiders at one point which Lilah didn’t like, but the older kids loved it.
Bournemouth’s offering for this year’s pantomime season is its best yet, Dame Trott’s costume and wig changes were lots of fun and Daisy the Cow was definitely the star of the show. Silly Simon’s tongue twisters with kids from the audience was just brilliant and the sing along, well………….if you go, you’ll know!!
Jack and the Beanstalk is at Bournemouth Pavilion over the Christmas period, until 5th January 2025. Tickets are available from the Bournemouth Pavilion website, with a relaxed performance on Tuesday 17 December at 10:30am.
