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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2019 1:53:44 GMT
Mother Goose at The Marlowe in Canterbury today. It's a panto I've always wanted to see and it did not disappoint. Ben Roddy absolutely dominates the show as the titular character and is a fantastic Dame. Some people just seem born to do it, he reminded me of an old school variety comic in his delivery and repartee with the audience, I ached from laughter. Also a delight to see Jenna Russell, her first foray into panto apparently but of course she was brilliant and her musical numbers were just wonderful to listen to. The villain was a cross between Kenneth Williams and Steve Coogan in his high camp evil persona and he got some great scenes with Russell. I still stand by Hackney being the best, but this was a very, very close second. Ben Roddy is always excellent, I've never seen him as a Dame before though. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2019 2:00:19 GMT
Peter Pan at Birmingham Rep was excellent, great use of bungee flying hoists - you could see someone clambering up the side of the set to counterweight the various actors when they "flew". Set designer deserves a shoutout too.
Lots of funny local jokes and a clever reworking of the story. Nia Gwynne seemed to be having a ball playing Hook and Mirabelle Gremaud as Tink was hilarious - looking like Columbia in the Rocky Horror Show and sounding like Columbia does when she is sprayed by Frank and goes on that mad rant before the floor show.
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Post by talkingheads on Dec 15, 2019 8:35:38 GMT
Mother Goose at The Marlowe in Canterbury today. It's a panto I've always wanted to see and it did not disappoint. Ben Roddy absolutely dominates the show as the titular character and is a fantastic Dame. Some people just seem born to do it, he reminded me of an old school variety comic in his delivery and repartee with the audience, I ached from laughter. Also a delight to see Jenna Russell, her first foray into panto apparently but of course she was brilliant and her musical numbers were just wonderful to listen to. The villain was a cross between Kenneth Williams and Steve Coogan in his high camp evil persona and he got some great scenes with Russell. I still stand by Hackney being the best, but this was a very, very close second. Ben Roddy is always excellent, I've never seen him as a Dame before though. Oh right. They made a huge deal of it being his 10th year, after all Mother Goose is the best plot where the Dame is concerned. But yes he was so good I bought tickets for Jack and the Beanstalk next year straight after. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2019 18:03:27 GMT
Ben Roddy is always excellent, I've never seen him as a Dame before though. Oh right. They made a huge deal of it being his 10th year, after all Mother Goose is the best plot where the Dame is concerned. But yes he was so good I bought tickets for Jack and the Beanstalk next year straight after. I saw him in Panto many years ago, I cannot recall where but he has been regarded as one of the best panto performers for a fair while. |
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Post by lou105 on Dec 19, 2019 19:11:53 GMT
Trying to convince my family to go to Darlington to see La Ballas... anyone making that trip let me know if it’s any good!! Saw it today. It's fine as a family outing to a traditional panto, possibly not worth travelling far to. They announced at the beginning that Shirley is carrying an injury so wouldn't be dancing "to her full capacity", and you could tell that some scenes had been adapted as a result. There are no stand out singers, so I suspect the casting was done to focus on dance, since George Sampson is Jack. No slosh scene or audience sing-off. Some cute bits with animals, one short UV sequence. So if you want bells and whistles, probably not for you, but the hundreds of primary school kids in the audience loved it! |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 22, 2019 1:22:28 GMT
Saw Snow White at Birmingham Hippodrome - Matt Slack totally stole the show as usual. He even took off Lesley Joseph's wig off during the 12 Days of Christmas leaving her in her wig cap.
Goldilocks coming to Birmingham next year with Matt back for 8th year.
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Post by talkingheads on Dec 22, 2019 9:00:51 GMT
Cinderella in Croydon yesterday. It's.... fine. I will say I enjoyed it more than the Lyric's Cinderella but I can't say much else. The only great part really was Tim Vine, a comic pretty much born for panto, turns the puns up to 11 and it was delightful. Otherwise, pretty average. No slosh scene which really annoyed me, and everything just felt a bit by the numbers. I'm starting to think maybe it's just that Cindetella is so stale as a story, I swear there are more productions of it than ever this year.
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Post by Rozzi Rainbow on Dec 22, 2019 18:09:57 GMT
I'm generally not a huge fan of panto, so will normally only go to see certain people. Yesterday I went to see Lee from Steps in Jack and the Beanstalk in Chesterfield, and actually really enjoyed it - even the scenes he wasn't in! I normally have a low tolerance for silliness in pantos, but this one was ok, the silly bits weren't too silly and I even quite liked the Simple Simon character.
I think Jack is a good panto for the male leads, getting them more involved than most Princes. The ending with the kids going up on stage is a bit different, as there are two children with their respective parents on the stage too in a kids v adults bit.
As expected there was a Steps medley, and I impressed one of the ensemble dancers by joining in the moves. On my way home I surprised myself with the thought that this is a show I actually wouldn't mind seeing again. As I've got off to a good start with pantos this year, I'm actually now planning to see another a bit nearer to me, hopefully it will also be within my tolerance levels!
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Post by crabtree on Dec 22, 2019 19:17:28 GMT
The Manchester Opera House Snow White with Craig Revel Horwood and the best Dame in the business, Eric Potts, was hugely enjoyable
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Post by talkingheads on Dec 29, 2019 16:02:06 GMT
Just been to the Lyceum in Crewe to see Cannon and Ball in Peter Pan, and what a show. Nothing is quite as brilliant as seeing performers with over fifty years experience plying their trade onstage, it was hysterical. Constant asides and ad libs, including a particularly persistent kiddy heckler which Bobby dealt with like the pro he is. Also it was refreshing to see a panto that knows when to end. 2hrs 10 in total, perfect length.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2019 22:14:21 GMT
Just been to the Lyceum in Crewe to see Cannon and Ball in Peter Pan, and what a show. Nothing is quite as brilliant as seeing performers with over fifty years experience plying their trade onstage, it was hysterical. Constant asides and ad libs, including a particularly persistent kiddy heckler which Bobby dealt with like the pro he is. Also it was refreshing to see a panto that knows when to end. 2hrs 10 in total, perfect length. Too many pantos run to over 2 hours 30 mins with some close to 3 hours. Given the crazy schedule that performers have across the run and young audiences I agree that around 2 hours to 2 hours 10 should be ideal length. |
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Post by showgirl on Dec 30, 2019 4:38:51 GMT
Agree and am relieved to see that the Guildford panto this year - which I'm seeing this week as waiting for trains to resume rather than braving rail replacement bus - is exactly that length, though the interval is 20 minutes on top, so 2 h 30 overall.
On the same note, I went to see Nativity The Musical on Saturday evening. I'll draw a veil over the rest of the experience but I was shocked and disappointed to learn that it was due to last so long and the first act certainly outstayed its welcome at 75 minutes. Surprising with so many young people in the audience and many of those attending with long journeys home as it won't be a local venue for most, unlike, perhaps, many regional venues. Besides, it's not just children who need an earlier night than these running times allow!
On the scheduling point for performers, I hope other pantos do as in Guildford and with long-running musicals and have alternates. Guildford has plenty of double performance days but also had two only with 3 performances and on both those days, alternates were used for the earlier 2.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2019 2:03:19 GMT
Saw Cinderella at Palace Theatre Redditch on Monday night, again a bit on the long side 2 hours and 45 minutes. But it was great to see the haunted bedroom sketch lead into the ghost and bench routine. Dean Horner and Oliver Gray as the Ugly Sisters were one of the best duos I've seen since Ellacott and Robbins at their best.
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Post by teatowel on Dec 31, 2019 14:26:07 GMT
I hadn't been to a panto in ages, but I did see Cinderfella at The Tron a couple of weeks ago. It was hilarious & totally dotty - lots of contemporary references and commentary and a combination of modern storytelling, a bit of gender-swapping, ace original songs and all-out bonkers-ness by Jonny McKnight.
The small, multi-roling all-women cast were excellent & particular highlights were Jo Freer as Cinderella's side-kick, Muttons the sheep, who also became the Fairy Frogmother, and also Hannah Jarrett-Scott & Daisy Ann Fletcher as the Ugly Stepbrothers, Harry & Larry flexing in impressive (& slightly disturbing) muscle suits.
It was possibly aimed at slightly older children & adults: the secondary school groups in the audience really seemed to enjoy it.
It was a brilliant way to spend the afternoon.
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Post by laceyjames123 on Jan 3, 2020 10:46:40 GMT
I haven't been to see a panto for many years but due to my recently discovered crush on the Pritchard Brothers I went to see Curtis in Dick Whittington at the Wycombe Swan on Monday and absolutely loved it- I'd forgotten just how much fun they can be! As you might expect there were a few Love Island related jokes but also some very clever and witty one liners and a great tongue twister scene. The audience really seemed to enjoy it and the show itself was visually very impressive with some great sets and costumes. The Act One finale was particularly mesmerising. Overall a really fun and enjoyable couple of hours and I will definitely consider seeing another panto again next year.
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Post by TallPaul on Jan 3, 2020 12:32:21 GMT
I promised in the Danny La Rue thread to post a link to a recent article in The Yorkshire Post about Qdos' huge warehouses in Scarborough and Beverley. I always keep my word, so here it is. Qdos article. |
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Post by David J on Jan 3, 2020 12:54:06 GMT
Saw Peter Pan at the Mayflower Theatre and it was okay
The story certainly doesn't lend itself to panto. The show itself seemed hellbent on rushing through the story that by the interval we've already done the tinkerbell revival
Which by the way is pulled off rather weirdly. You first of all watch Tinkerbell take the poison and then there's a brief blackout in which she gets off. In comes Peter and we watch a video projection of Tink's spirit singing a sad goodbye song. Which was pointless given she is alive a few minutes later.
The show feels a little rough about the edges. Like its low on QDOS' priority list. I've excused their cgi videos in the past but in 2020 they could really do with replacing with better graphics.
But it doesn't matter because it is the acts to carry the show. Sadly Darren Day doesn't have the oomph to be the side-kick entertainer/comic role as Mr Smee. It took a while for the audience to warm up.
This is the first time I've seen the Grumbleweeds. They're acts range from fine to a scene where Robin Colvill messes about with the lighting, sound and sets. Very hilarious. A moment that was on par with the palladium acts.
And then later we had Robin Colvill rollerskate across the stage naked. Has panto come to this...
The other highlight was the Timbuktu Tumbles who do some amazing acrobatics.
Marti Pellow is what you'd expect him to be as Captain Hook. Not the best singer and actor but he was enjoying himself. Apparently he even wrote a lot of the songs in the show. He took part in the tongue twister act saying so many Scottish "sh"s that would make Sean Connery jealous
As for Jaymi Hensley as Peter Pan I've got one word for him: ANNUNCIATE. He rushed through most of his lines and was inaudible a lot of the time. Still there was a moment where he and Cassie Compton as Wendy were intentionally corpsing that was hilarious
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Post by talkingheads on Jan 3, 2020 15:57:04 GMT
Saw Peter Pan at the Mayflower Theatre and it was okay The story certainly doesn't lend itself to panto. The show itself seemed hellbent on rushing through the story that by the interval we've already done the tinkerbell revival Which by the way is pulled off rather weirdly. You first of all watch Tinkerbell take the poison and then there's a brief blackout in which she gets off. In comes Peter and we watch a video projection of Tink's spirit singing a sad goodbye song. Which was pointless given she is alive a few minutes later. The show feels a little rough about the edges. Like its low on QDOS' priority list. I've excused their cgi videos in the past but in 2020 they could really do with replacing with better graphics. But it doesn't matter because it is the acts to carry the show. Sadly Darren Day doesn't have the oomph to be the side-kick entertainer/comic role as Mr Smee. It took a while for the audience to warm up. This is the first time I've seen the Grumbleweeds. They're acts range from fine to a scene where Robin Colvill messes about with the lighting, sound and sets. Very hilarious. A moment that was on par with the palladium acts. And then later we had Robin Colvill rollerskate across the stage naked. Has panto come to this... The other highlight was the Timbuktu Tumbles who do some amazing acrobatics. Marti Pellow is what you'd expect him to be as Captain Hook. Not the best singer and actor but he was enjoying himself. Apparently he even wrote a lot of the songs in the show. He took part in the tongue twister act saying so many Scottish "sh"s that would make Sean Connery jealous As for Jaymi Hensley as Peter Pan I've got one word for him: ANNUNCIATE. He rushed through most of his lines and was inaudible a lot of the time. Still there was a moment where he and Cassie Compton as Wendy were intentionally corpsing that was hilarious Just seen it and agree with pretty much all your sentiments. Although I must say I was pleasantly surprised by how good Marti Pellow was, deliciously evil and he absolutely relished it. Grumbleweeds were the low light, cheap laughs and not a patch on the likes of The Chuckle Brothers or Cannon and Ball. Day was very annoying, like he was on autopilot, and he didn't have the cheeky charm needed for the comic's role. Next years is Cinderella with Revel Horwood and Debbie McGee, won't be visiting The Mayflower next year, I've vowed not to see any Cinderellas if I can avoid it. |
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Post by hulmeman on Jan 3, 2020 16:02:11 GMT
If you still need a panto fix I have four performances left at Altrincham Garrick Playhouse! Shameless isn't it!
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Post by Rozzi Rainbow on Jan 5, 2020 17:41:25 GMT
Since I was last on here a fortnight ago, I've seen another three pantos.
Our local panto at our very small Georgian theatre is Aladdin, and our Genie is Freddie Mercury. That's the only reason I went, and it's fantastic, so much so I made a return visit today, and I'm not a panto fan. There are lots of Queen references in the dialogue, and variations on Queen songs, including the audience joining in with "We will, make your, wishes come true". There's also a cameo by Cannon and Ball (pre-recorded).
Jack and the Beanstalk at Whitely Bay was good, Ashely and her dog Sully (previously Pudsey from their BGT days) were very good in it, I think all panto fairies should be assisted by a dancing dog!
Yesterday I went to Beauty and the Beast in Newcastle. Oh dear, I think my low tolerance for panto had run out by this point. It was basically the Danny and Clive show and was much too silly for my liking. It was a nice change from the more frequently shown pantos and the scenes with Beauty and the Beast in them were good, so if there had been more of them, and less of the messing around being stupid without adding anything to the story bits, I would have enjoyed it more. I understand these are a key part to panto, but other shows have got the balance right much better. Next year we have Humpty Dumpty, which just sounds like an excuse to throw eggs around for two hours, so I might give that a miss.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2020 19:03:21 GMT
Saw Peter Pan at the Mayflower Theatre and it was okay The story certainly doesn't lend itself to panto. The show itself seemed hellbent on rushing through the story that by the interval we've already done the tinkerbell revival Which by the way is pulled off rather weirdly. You first of all watch Tinkerbell take the poison and then there's a brief blackout in which she gets off. In comes Peter and we watch a video projection of Tink's spirit singing a sad goodbye song. Which was pointless given she is alive a few minutes later. The show feels a little rough about the edges. Like its low on QDOS' priority list. I've excused their cgi videos in the past but in 2020 they could really do with replacing with better graphics. But it doesn't matter because it is the acts to carry the show. Sadly Darren Day doesn't have the oomph to be the side-kick entertainer/comic role as Mr Smee. It took a while for the audience to warm up. This is the first time I've seen the Grumbleweeds. They're acts range from fine to a scene where Robin Colvill messes about with the lighting, sound and sets. Very hilarious. A moment that was on par with the palladium acts. And then later we had Robin Colvill rollerskate across the stage naked. Has panto come to this... The other highlight was the Timbuktu Tumbles who do some amazing acrobatics. Marti Pellow is what you'd expect him to be as Captain Hook. Not the best singer and actor but he was enjoying himself. Apparently he even wrote a lot of the songs in the show. He took part in the tongue twister act saying so many Scottish "sh"s that would make Sean Connery jealous As for Jaymi Hensley as Peter Pan I've got one word for him: ANNUNCIATE. He rushed through most of his lines and was inaudible a lot of the time. Still there was a moment where he and Cassie Compton as Wendy were intentionally corpsing that was hilarious I saw it last week and agree it wasnt the strongest. Darren Day tried to be the comedian role and he did a good effort but never quite reached the mark. The Grumbleweeds I think are an acquired taste, for me the show ground to a half when they came on. The pulling wires skit though was funny. I liked the less camp/fop and more ruthless pirate approach to Hook but could hardly understand what he sang. Tigerlilly and the tumbling act were the stand outs. it really came alive when they came on Peter and Wendy were good with what little they had to do. |
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Post by irisjeregenboog on Jan 5, 2020 21:12:24 GMT
So, my first pantomime ever was the glorious Red Riding Hood - The Rock ’n Roll Panto at Leeds City Varieties Music Hall. Oh man. It was so much fun! Why is this a purely British thing? It should be a thing everywhere! The story was nuts and not that important (although it did make sense). The jokes and innuendos were superfun; I joined in whole-heartedly in all the crazy screaming. The dame was glorious and a minor character called Bodgit also deserves a shoutout. When he was playing a hare with scissors (to demonstrate a haircut; you had to be there) he didn’t have any lines, so of course the dame made fun of him. Their exchange concluded with the following: Dame: “Three years of drama school. Was it worth it?” *shaking his head in regret while desperately suppressing laughter to show that he is a professional after all* The parts where the cast cracked up because of the weird antics of the dame were definite highlights. The lady next to me was filming parts of the show (tut tut, but I didn’t say anything, because you know: why make a fuss?). But she apologised to me for filming and using her phone when we were in the queue for the toilets. Turns out she was the mother of the bad guy (the wolf) and wanted to film his parts of the show so that she could make fun of him later at home. She also mentioned that although it all looked very glamorous on stage, she is more used to him in his pyjamas and still does his laundry for him (because that is what moms are for). She was also very enthusiastic in joining in with all the interactive bits and I definitely took some of my screaming cues from her. Lovely conversation; lovely titbit of info. Also: lovely people allround here in Yorkshire. After 4.5 years of grim Swiss people, I really don’t know how to handle this  Then in other news, my mom, who I was with, made a bit of a stir during the interval. She used the disabled toilets (because there were only 3 toilets available in total and the queue was growing and growing) and in doing that I lost sight of her for one precious moment, since I was using another cubicle. Well. I am sitting there and hey, an alarm starts blaring. First, I think nothing of it, but then I hear a kerfuffle outside with people raising their voices etc. What had happened? Well, my mom is older (as most moms are) and she saw a chord hanging down from the toilet. In the old days, that’s how you flushed a toilet. Not anymore. Now they are just present in the disabled toilets as alarm chords. So she pulled the chord, thinking she’d flush the toilet and so set off the alarm. Much broken English explanations and apologies from my mom, much embarrassment from me. Let’s just conclude it was an eventful afternoon: a great start to the new theatre year! 5/5 stars |
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Post by TallPaul on Jan 6, 2020 10:51:43 GMT
I think, irisjeregenboog, you win the internet for today, as I believe the young people say. Oh yes you do! And you're right about people in Yorkshire, though we don't like to shout about it too much, in case everyone wants to move here! |
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Post by talkingheads on Jan 10, 2020 19:01:48 GMT
Just made my now annual trip to York and despite no Berwick (onstage at least) it was the most I've laughed at a panto, and possibly in a theatre in general, for a long time. There is such a magical chemistry between the cast and nobody, but nobody can beat David Leanord for comic villainary, his facial expressions alone are enough to bring the house down. Suzy Cooper though was the standout for me, going for the slapstick with aplomb and exuding an infections high energy throughout. I overheard some staff member saying there could be a cast shake up next year. Well I reckon there will be riots on the streets of York if there is!
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Post by talkingheads on Jan 11, 2020 18:31:23 GMT
Regardless if anybody is still interested, I watched my final panto of the season. Seen 12 in all! And what a show to end of. Snow White at Bradford and the comedy masterclass of Paul Chuckle and Billy Pearce. I was biased from the start as I have loved The Chuckle Brothers for twenty four years and I swear when the ChuckleVision theme started there was the loudest cheer I've ever heard in a theatre, it was electric! A lot of the routines I was familiar with, but part of the fun is marvelling at a master of their craft working the stage and the audience. Pearce I wasn't familiar with but I was soon won over by his winsome charm and ribald repartee. There is always a part of me that's sad watching Paul with another double act partner but Pearce was well up to the task, far better than the comic Paul was with in Woking last year
So that's me done with panto for another year (Oh yes it is!). Phew!
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