Ben Pickersgill Archives - thespyinthestalls.com

★★★★

“the performers put on an impressive show without a moment’s rest”

As the festive season approaches, the time of pantomime comes without holding back. In this production co created by Jermyn Street Theatre and Charles Court Opera, who will be celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2025, we leave all worries (and historical accuracy) outside the entrance doors and enjoy an evening of hilarious covers of popular tunes, disguises and pastries.

In this intimate space, the ensemble bursts with energy and comedic genius as they add a twist in the famous rivalry between the English and the French during Napoleon’s attempt to conquer Europe. On the one side, there is King George (Elliot Broadfoot), the Duke of Wellington (Jennie Jacobs) and Princess Georgina (Amy J Payne) who is disguised as a private in order to fulfil her wish of ending the war. On the other side, there is the infamous Napoleon (Matthew Kellett), standing as tall as he can and savouring the audience’s boos, with Marie Antoinette as his resurrected companion. A legend goes around which says that if one obtains a precious stone in the King’s vault, this person will become undefeated and the only way to open the vault is to use Horatio Nelson’s hand, which Napoleon possesses. Determined to win the war, the English royal party embark on a ship and off they go to destroy Napoleon once and for all.

From Lady Gaga and ABBA to Elton John and Bonnie Tyler, the performers put on an impressive show without a moment’s rest. Merry Holden’s choreography is a fascinating mixture of 80s pop culture and melodramatic inspired moves, performed with perfect synchronisation and gusto. The performers’ voices are highly skilled but also used to heighten the humorous merriment of the piece, with David Eaton’s musical direction subtly, though solidly, accompanying the actors.

There is a clear simulation of a stand up comedy show in the way the sound effects and cheesy punch lines are delivered. At times, not even the actors’ acknowledgement is enough to make the script feel less ridiculous and it is impossible not to roll one’s eyes at the overused jokes and puns. But the actors’ commitment is ardent and the audience is more than happy to sing along, even participate in the games involved onstage. Costumes, (Lucy Fowler) are flamboyant, complimenting marvellously the royal theme and over-the-top tone and Ben Pickersgill’s lighting design does exactly the same by using bright shades of primary colours, as well as sharp spotlights.

Following their previous successful collaboration, last year’s Odyssey: A Heroic Pantomime, it’s safe to say that the electrifying creative chemistry Jermyn Street Theatre and Charles Court Opera delivers what it promises, always finding interesting ways to use well-known stories in an entertaining and inventive fashion. The sparkling direction from Benji Sperring and John Savournin (who also co-wrote the show with David Eaton) lifts the experience to another level. It’s an evening full of musical mischief, baguettes and hearty laughter. This production reminds us why the tradition of pantomimes is such a big part of the festive season, offering entertainment and a sense of release open-handedly to the audience, but also reminding us that life can be ridiculous and wacky, sometimes in the best possible way.

Snow White in the Seven Months of Lockdown

Online via www.kingsheadtheatre.com

Reviewed – 14th December 2020

★★★★

“The talent on display longs to break out of the small screen and take to the stage again”

“Mirror mirror on the wall…” begins the Wicked Queen in familiar, heightened, camped up, Disney tones. The mirror is cracked and voiced by the inimitable comedy couple Mark Gatiss and Ian Hallard, so any resemblance to the usual Snow-White tale is thrown out of the window for the next hour. The Queen brushes aside the pleasantries about who might be the fairest in the land; she wants to know how best to claw back all that money from furlough that she doled out throughout the year.

And so, the tone is set. But this is more than a mere retelling of Snow White with clever references to Lockdown, as the title might suggest. Last Christmas Charles Court Opera took the Nativity story and turned it completely on its head to joyful and triumphant effect. This year they have been forced to work behind closed doors, but their boundless, chaotic imaginations have not been restrained in the least and again, they have created a unique show dressed up in their distinctive style. It is difficult to continue this review without spoilers. But then again, I could probably describe the plot in detail for you and you’d still be none the wiser.

Snow White is a man in a frock, widow to the late, great King of Soul, Barry White. See what I mean? The Prince of Pretzel (aka Larry) wants to marry Snow White, but his valet Harry reminds him that she is a commoner and therefore beneath him. The Wicked Queen has other plans entirely. The seven dwarves are renamed due to Disney copyright. The poisoned apple is a box of Turkish Delight (or is it a bomb? Or a Pie?). When Larry and Harry meet Gary (the plumber, or could it be the Wicked Queen in disguise…?) things hot up. The jokes and innuendos are the only elements of predictability in this otherwise surreal and riotous romp through Fairyland. There is a family version or an adult version to choose from before you watch, though I suspect there is little difference between the two. A few profanities aside, it is soft-core enough to sit either side of the watershed. The enjoyment and the subversive sense of humour derives from the twists in the Pythonesque narrative, but above all in the performances of the company’s members.

Jennie Jacobs cuts a dusky figure as the Wicked Queen; an inspired cross between Penelope Keith and Cruella de Ville. John Savournin’s Snow White channels David Walliams in drag; but better. Savounin makes the character truly his own with a finely honed, deadpan self-deprecation. Like the rest of the cast, Emily Cairns as the Prince and Meriel Cunningham as the side-kick valet who turns into a toad, trailblaze through the show with expert comic timing and spot-on characterisation. And then there is Matthew Kellett, who has the job of playing the seven dwarves. His versatility borders on insane, especially when he delivers an Elton John pastiche, singing to his own corpse at the funeral of ‘Half Baked’ the dwarf. Indeed, the musical moments stand out. Each member of the cast, along with the chorus, is in fine voice. David Eaton’s lyrics are as inventive and topical as ever, pasted onto parodies that plunder popular culture. The highlight of the show has to be a brilliant ensemble mash up that, within a mere two and a half minutes, packs in The Beatles, A-Ha, Village people, Oasis and ‘Les Misérables’ among others.

The comic references, particularly to the pandemic, never hamper the action, which trundles towards a neat, morally strewn conclusion during which we are advised not to hide the power of “lurve” by Barry White himself (uncannily voiced by Marcus Fraser) from behind an animated cloud. We could almost be in Terry Gilliam territory.

Occasionally, though, the team’s ambitions outstretch them. The interactive elements, whereby we can select an option on the screen to determine the course of the action stall the flow. The teething problems inherent in the technology occasionally set us adrift. But once back on board we are again swept along. It is a shame, though, that we are not witnessing this show live. The talent on display longs to break out of the small screen and take to the stage again. But if this year’s offering is anything to go by, I can’t wait to see what they come up with next Christmas when, surely by then, we’ll all be back in a sold-out auditorium – which is what they deserve.

NAPOLEON: UN PETIT PANTOMIME at Jermyn Street Theatre

★★★★

“the performers put on an impressive show without a moment’s rest”

NAPOLEON: UN PETIT PANTOMIME at Jermyn Street Theatre

Reviewed on 26th November 2024

by Stephanie Christodoulidou

Photography by Alex Brenner

Previously reviewed at this venue:

NAPOLEON: UN PETIT PANTOMIME

NAPOLEON: UN PETIT PANTOMIME

Online via www.kingsheadtheatre.com

Reviewed – 14th December 2020

★★★★

“The talent on display longs to break out of the small screen and take to the stage again”

Reviewed by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Ali Wright

Snow White in the Seven Months of Lockdown

Available to stream until 31st December from www.kingsheadtheatre.com

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