Post by mkb on Jan 16, 2023 1:19:13 GMT
"Oh no, there are water guns. Quick! Cover the programme!", I beseeched my husband. Unfortunately, as his head went down reaching to the floor, my hand went up to deflect a giant, inflatable ball. The resulting collision knocked out my poor partner's contact lens and tore a two-inch scratch across his face. (Note to self: fingernails need cutting.)
So Act 2 went well!
While I await potential spousal retribution from the "where there's blame, there's a claim", ambulance-chasing lawyers, I must mull over whether Mother Goose was worth it.
The answer, sadly, is probably not. It was ok, but well short of expectations. (Hubby however disagreed, and enjoyed himself despite being laid seige to.)
I enjoyed the bonkers book, and the pacing and running time were fine. The problem was the jokes. There just wasn't much that tickled my sense of humour. John Bishop is a thoroughly decent guy, but I've never been a fan of his stand-up. There's nothing wrong with it if your on that wavelength. It's just not mine. Here of course, he's delivering lines from Jonathan Harvey rather than his own material.
I had the pleasure of seeing Ken Dodd live once. Only about one in four of his one-liners was actually funny to me, but they came so thick and fast that, overall, you were laughing a lot. The hit-rate in Mother Goose is lower, as is the speed of delivery, so I had the occasional chortle and a few smiles, but mainly groans. The political digs, which I usually enjoy, were neither clever nor original.
Harvey is writing here in his Gimme Gimme Gimme mode, but heavily filtered by the constraints of 2023 social mores. So, it's a lot less filthy, and less amusing as a result. That said, a few gags, relying on "fairies" and "what happens in Brighton" as code for "homosexual", did make it through. I regard that sort of Carry On humour as harmless fun, but I can imagine the outrage if it were penned by a heterosexual.
When you pay full price for a panto at the Palladium, you can see where your money has been spent. It's grand and opulent with a good orchestra. Not so here. One presumes that the two leads are the principal outlay. The production is rather rough round the edges and quite am-dram at times. Some characters were not properly lit when it seemed they should be, and pyrotechnic effects that greeted every entrance of the fairies were oddly placed 2m in front of them, level with the second row of stalls seats. From my perspective in the centre of the third row, this looked quite peculiar. The musical number One from A Chorus Line seemed to be largely voiced by pre-recorded vocals.
It was telling that it was thought necessary to have Bishop deliver a five-minute, how-to-behave-at-panto monologue at the top of the show. A good panto shouldn't need expectation setting.
Happily, the supporting cast are on good form and Ian McKellen's Caroline Goose is magnificent. The contortions into which he can distort the outlines of his overly lipsticked lips is quite something to behold.
If you can get a cheap ticket on tour, Mother Goose is not a bad shout. Just don't make the mistake I did and think it would be worth shelling out for at full price. It's not *that* good.
Three stars.
Act 1: 17:07-18:22 with 5-minute monologue from John Bishop until 17:12
Act 2: 18:44-19:36
So Act 2 went well!
While I await potential spousal retribution from the "where there's blame, there's a claim", ambulance-chasing lawyers, I must mull over whether Mother Goose was worth it.
The answer, sadly, is probably not. It was ok, but well short of expectations. (Hubby however disagreed, and enjoyed himself despite being laid seige to.)
I enjoyed the bonkers book, and the pacing and running time were fine. The problem was the jokes. There just wasn't much that tickled my sense of humour. John Bishop is a thoroughly decent guy, but I've never been a fan of his stand-up. There's nothing wrong with it if your on that wavelength. It's just not mine. Here of course, he's delivering lines from Jonathan Harvey rather than his own material.
I had the pleasure of seeing Ken Dodd live once. Only about one in four of his one-liners was actually funny to me, but they came so thick and fast that, overall, you were laughing a lot. The hit-rate in Mother Goose is lower, as is the speed of delivery, so I had the occasional chortle and a few smiles, but mainly groans. The political digs, which I usually enjoy, were neither clever nor original.
Harvey is writing here in his Gimme Gimme Gimme mode, but heavily filtered by the constraints of 2023 social mores. So, it's a lot less filthy, and less amusing as a result. That said, a few gags, relying on "fairies" and "what happens in Brighton" as code for "homosexual", did make it through. I regard that sort of Carry On humour as harmless fun, but I can imagine the outrage if it were penned by a heterosexual.
When you pay full price for a panto at the Palladium, you can see where your money has been spent. It's grand and opulent with a good orchestra. Not so here. One presumes that the two leads are the principal outlay. The production is rather rough round the edges and quite am-dram at times. Some characters were not properly lit when it seemed they should be, and pyrotechnic effects that greeted every entrance of the fairies were oddly placed 2m in front of them, level with the second row of stalls seats. From my perspective in the centre of the third row, this looked quite peculiar. The musical number One from A Chorus Line seemed to be largely voiced by pre-recorded vocals.
It was telling that it was thought necessary to have Bishop deliver a five-minute, how-to-behave-at-panto monologue at the top of the show. A good panto shouldn't need expectation setting.
Happily, the supporting cast are on good form and Ian McKellen's Caroline Goose is magnificent. The contortions into which he can distort the outlines of his overly lipsticked lips is quite something to behold.
If you can get a cheap ticket on tour, Mother Goose is not a bad shout. Just don't make the mistake I did and think it would be worth shelling out for at full price. It's not *that* good.
Three stars.
Act 1: 17:07-18:22 with 5-minute monologue from John Bishop until 17:12
Act 2: 18:44-19:36
