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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★★★★

“a lot is packed into this emotionally raw production”

There are two trains of thought about the pandemic. One that it is still too raw to explore in dramatic form; the other that it is old hat, and nobody wants to hear any more about it. But remember it, we all do. James McDermott has distilled those memories into a unique two-hander that follows the breakdown of a relationship, and of society, in tandem. The personal and the panoramic are mirrored effortlessly and it is impossible to remain unaffected by McDermott’s writing.

Anne (Kacey Ainsworth) and Don (Liam Tobin) are approaching their twenty-ninth anniversary, having long reached the comfort zone of the ‘can’t-live-with-you-can’t-live-without-you’ phase. Affection and irritation go blithely hand in hand; one minute dancing uninhibitedly to the Eurythmics ‘Sweet Dreams’, spilling wine and laughter in equal measure; the next bickering with jabs that often pierce uncomfortably deep.

From the order to ‘stay at home’, we follow the pair through the next twelve months. The pandemic itself is initially a backdrop to the minutiae of a marriage, but inevitably it draws in like a rising tide cutting off any escape route. Director Scott Le Crass keeps the actors within this frame of claustrophobia. Like caged animals they pace, sit, stand. Repetitive and functionless. Don at first feels safe. His vintage shop business wasn’t going so well anyway. Anne is twitchier, forced to work from home instead of being on the NHS frontline. She is tired of being the breadwinner, tired of her hot flushes and tired of “non-essential” Don.

“a compelling black comedy”

Although we know that’s not entirely true. Ainsworth is a master performer, eking out the nuances of her layered character. Each word, gesture and expression ring true. Tobin has a similar grasp of realism. They both make the stark shifts of mood believable. We recognise this couple. We are drawn into their individuality, but it is their inter-dependence that has us in an emotional stranglehold right through to – and especially during – the final scenes.

There are many scenes that take us there. Some short, some long, some dark, some light, some wordy, some silent. Jodie Underwood’s lighting slices between them while Adam Langston’s staccato, filmic music stabs at the transitions with Hitchcockian chill. The lights gradually dim in line with the subject matter as the action unfolds, and the comedy ebbs and makes way for the darker hues.

There is an extraordinary attention to detail. Anne’s password, we learn, is ‘cagedbird’. The transition from drinking from a glass to drinking straight from the bottle. Don tearing up his invitation to be vaccinated. The bursts of the optimistic, upbeat Eurythmic music fade into the scenes on certain lyrics: ‘some of them want to abuse you…’, or ‘when depression starts to win…’. These subtleties add poignancy and potency to Ainsworth’s and Tobin’s already powerful performance.

In a little over an hour, a lot is packed into this emotionally raw production. The words crackle with meaning, but so do the silences. “Jab” is a compelling black comedy. I definitely urge you to catch it (words I probably wouldn’t have chosen during the pandemic).

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

JAB at the Finborough Theatre

★★★★

“a lot is packed into this emotionally raw production”

“a compelling black comedy”

JAB at the Finborough Theatre

Reviewed on 23rd February 2024

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Steve Gregson

Previously reviewed at this venue:

JAB

JAB