JACK AND THE BEANSTALK: WHAT A WHOPPER! at Charing Cross Theatre

★★★

“some great, high-energy performances and a really superb design”

Following last year’s Sleeping Beauty Takes a Prick!, the same creative team returns to the Charing Cross Theatre with another riotously naughty adult pantomime: Jack and the Beanstalk: What a Whopper! This outrageous take on the beloved fairytale, written by Jon Bradfield and Martin Hooper, promises all the glitter and glamour of traditional panto, but with a decidedly adult twist. Packed with innuendos, saucy humour, and fabulous designs, it’s an unashamedly queer festive night out.

The show’s design is truly marvellous, with David Shields’ award-winning talents on full display. The set bursts with vibrant colour and whimsical detail, perfectly capturing the silly yet sophisticated tone of the production. Glittering pink and blue clouds frame the stage and floor, giving a cohesive, cartoon-like charm that’s both nostalgic and fresh. Scene transitions, from Dame Dolly’s kitchen to a graveyard and even then to the sky, are executed with seamless flair, ensuring the visual storytelling flows effortlessly. Perhaps the most important part of any version of this particular story is, of course, the reveal of the beanstalk. Shields’ design absolutely does not disappoint, with the phallic shaped stalk bursting onto the scene with great delight from the audience.

Robert Draper and Sandy Lloyd’s costumes are equally delightful, combining bold colours, traditional panto flair and some fun little tricks too. Matthew Baldwin’s Dame Dolly has perhaps a dozen changes throughout the show, donning various wigs and dresses, and at one glorious moment appearing in a Norma Desmond-inspired number, reflecting her character’s backstory as a failed soap opera star.

Matthew Baldwin is right at home as he returns to the adult pantomime and absolutely lives up to his reputation. He builds a great rapport with the audience, gracing the stage with ease, effortlessly balancing the character’s brash humour and softer moments. Chris Lane, swapping last year’s villainous role for Dale the fairy, is another standout. His cheeky rapport with the audience, impeccable comic timing, and flirtatious stage presence adds endless charm. Lane’s dynamic with Keanu Adolphus Johnson’s Jack Trott is particularly entertaining, with their playful exchanges offering plenty of laughs.

Johnson brings a likeable quality to Jack, capturing the character’s charm. While his performance might benefit from bolder characterisation, his chemistry with the rest of the cast and general presence is lovely. Laura Anna-Mead, as Simple Simone, has boundless energy from her first entrance, becoming hilariously giddy when talking about her big crush.

Jordan Stamatiadis also returns to this year’s panto as the villainous Lady Fleshcreep. Stamatiadis has a commanding onstage presence and shows off a gloriously evil voice. Meanwhile, Joe Grundy as Reverend Tim, navigating a comic sexual awakening, provides some laughs, though could push the physical characterisation much further.

Carole Todd’s choreography brings lots of joy and energy to the stage. Matt Hockley’s lighting design enhances this further, bathing the action in vibrant colours and dynamic effects that amplify the panto’s glittering atmosphere.

While the script delivers its fair share of laugh-out-loud moments, packed with smutty innuendos and one-liners, the narrative could be tightened. Scenes drift a little and could do with more focus as it journeys through each beat of the story. Likewise, musically, the original songs don’t do much to drive the narrative and aren’t exactly catchy or memorable. A brief moment of Beyonce is very welcome and further use of parodying pre-existing songs would really elevate the show to the next level.

Jack and the Beanstalk: What a Whopper! has some great, high-energy performances and a really superb design. The humour sometimes lands and sometimes doesn’t, and I think the show would overall benefit from focussing a bit more on story and a little less on joke after joke, which starts to get a little tiring. Above all, I think this is a pantomime team which knows its audience, and I’m sure many will really enjoy this year’s offering.

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK: WHAT A WHOPPER! at Charing Cross Theatre

Reviewed on 28th November 2024

by Joseph Dunitz

Photography by Steve Gregson

Previously reviewed at this venue:

TATTOOER | ★★★ | October 2024

ONE SMALL STEP | ★★ | October 2024

MARIE CURIE | ★★★ | June 2024

BRONCO BILLY – THE MUSICAL | ★★★ | January 2024

SLEEPING BEAUTY TAKES A PRICK! | ★★★★ | November 2023

REBECCA | ★★★★ | September 2023

GEORGE TAKEI’S ALLEGIANCE | ★★★★ | January 2023

FROM HERE TO ETERNITY | ★★★★ | November 2022

THE MILK TRAIN DOESN’T STOP HERE ANYMORE | ★★★ | October 2022

RIDE | ★★★★★ | August 2022

JACK AND THE

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★★★★

“The execution of the story is fascinating and the reflection on the punk and queer scene of the time is illuminating”

Foam is a biographical story about a gay neo-Nazi from 1974 to 1993. We follow his life through a series of conversations with other gay men, all taking place in a public toilet from the day he shaves his head to… the final bathroom. The show depicts racially sensitive subject matter, homophobia and violence (Jess Tucker Boyd as fight director). Some of the conversations are up for interpretation with regards to the takeaway message.

The audience enter to the sounds of a dripping echoey lavatory (David Segun Olowu). The room is plunged into darkness as startling punk music clangs around the intimate Finborough Theatre, with the audience sat on three sides. Lights up on Nicky with shaving foam on his head. Written by Harry McDonald and directed by Mathew Lliffe, Foam is an intense, cerebral and provocative examination of the dichotomous person that was Nicky Crane. The conversations are wide ranging; confrontational, sexually charged and also humorous as Nicky tries to connect with other queer men through the changing eras of the punk and gay clubbing scene.

The set is evocative and timeless with its industrial white tiled walls, blurry mirrors and fixtures of a public convenience (Nitin Parmar). It is lit with atmospheric colours and makes use of the glazed windows above and light seeping through the centre stage cubical. Colours creep into scenes slowly, before you notice the ‘rosey tint’ of Nicky’s memories (Jonathan Chan).

“Walker multi-roles these characters with tension and levity opposite Richards who is terrifying and desperate

McDonald takes artistic license as Nicky Crane (Jake Richards) meets Mosely (Matthew Baldwin), fascism incarnate, who seduces Nicky in more ways than one. Baldwin is electric and commanding whilst Richards is an unsure but intrigued teenager. Whilst gripping and absorbing, the blurring of homosexual awakening and right-wing radicalisation could be considered an unfair comparison, but others may read into the scene differently. Later on, we meet characters who seem attracted to Nicky’s ‘look’ in the form of Gabriel and Christopher (Kishore Walker) who display a nonchalant attitude to his skinhead identity. The play presents affronting examination of LGBTQ individuals who tolerate and entertain the hypocrisy of Nicky, even liking what he represents. Nicky can only exist as a Nazi if there are other gay people who choose to ignore or fetishise his tattoos and worldview. Walker multi-roles these characters with tension and levity opposite Richards who is terrifying and desperate.

A scene that provokes interrogation is that of Bird (Keanu Adolphus Johnson), a black gay man who Nicky corners in a club bathroom. The two men discuss Nicky’s crimes, which were unmentioned until this point, his targets including a nine year old. This is the only time Nicky and the audience is confronted with an overt rejection of right wing extremism and the impact of his crimes on victims, which bares noting. Johnson presents Bird as strong and secure in his queerness and in his rejection of Nicky in a powerful argument. The bravery of Bird is admirable, but potentially defangs the stakes of what Nicky represents. The final scene brings back Baldwin as Craig, a kind loving figure, starkly different to Mosely.

Foam tackles Crane’s life with depth and precision. In a story about neo-Nazis and hypocrisy, there was less focus on the consequences of his hate crimes and more on his strange double life and the people that populated it. The execution of the story is fascinating and the reflection on the punk and queer scene of the time is illuminating. The cast were superb and transfixing under Lliffe’s direction. Nicky Crane was a real man who committed hate crimes. There remains some discussion to be had about what the show was trying to say, and who got to say it. But It is clear that the play definitely invites these important conversations.

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK: WHAT A WHOPPER! at Charing Cross Theatre

★★★

“some great, high-energy performances and a really superb design”

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK: WHAT A WHOPPER! at Charing Cross Theatre

Reviewed on 28th November 2024

by Joseph Dunitz

Photography by Steve Gregson

Previously reviewed at this venue:

JACK AND THE

JACK AND THE

FOAM at the Finborough Theatre

★★★★

“The execution of the story is fascinating and the reflection on the punk and queer scene of the time is illuminating”

“Walker multi-roles these characters with tension and levity opposite Richards who is terrifying and desperate

FOAM at the Finborough Theatre

Reviewed on 4th April 2024

by Jessica Potts

Photography by Craig Fuller

Previously reviewed at this venue:

FOAM

FOAM