JACK AND THE BEANSTALK

And I don’t just mean the ghost routine, and milking the cow, and the wallpaper messy scene, though happily all of those are in place at Hornchurch this year. But for those theatres fortunate enough to sustain a resident repertory company, it’s the delight of watching actors we’ve seen through the year letting their hair down in front of a house of screaming kids, high on sweets and fizzy drinks.
Though it’s not easy to recognize Simon Jessop, who’s Hornchurch’s dame this year, under a formidable layer of warpaint, and trussed up in an increasingly fantastical succession of frocks. A paintbrush, a meadow, a candelabra, a cheeky toad in the hole, and a wedding bell amongst others. He gives a shamelessly traditional schtick, with the odd blue note, and keeps the show moving along nicely.
Nicholas Pegg’s Jack and the Beanstalk, directed by Matt Devitt, is a pretty traditional affair altogether, with only the occasional reference to popular culture, Downton or Gangnam, to remind us that rationing is over. Dick Emery, Hilda Baker, Terry Scott, even Old Mother Riley, could have stepped into the panto shoes of performers here without having to pause for thought.
So we had sweets thrown out into the audience ["Don't sue me if it takes your eye out …"], a singalong before the wedding, and name-checks from the giant guest book. But also a ker-ching moment for each of the show’s local sponsors, and a plug for next year’s Treasure Island.
Not surprising, perhaps, that the older performers are among the most impressive this year. Allison Harding is excellent both as the twinkly old lady who tells the tale, and a feisty Northern Mrs Thunderskull the Giant’s wife, while James Earl Adair adds another baddie to his repertoire, effortlessly rousing the rabble against his fiendish Fleshcreep. Both beautifully spoken, too.
Natasha Moore, always a favourite, is a charming Jill, though she has a feminist moment at the end, with Alison Thea-Skot as her thigh-slapping Jack. Simple Simon is an instantly likeable Mark Newnham, and Sean Needham gives a copybook Mr Bumble, not a beadle here, but Jill’s bluff old dad.
Billy Irving and Samuel Ward-Smith are Buttercup, plus, respectively, the Giant and Minerva the golden egg chicken.
Cut to the Chase, resident company at the Queen’s, are joined as ever by three teams of youngsters, given an ambitious routine of their own in Cloudland by choreographer Donna Berlin.
Carol Sloman provides original songs in several genres, including the statutory love duet, a rousing anthem (Climb)just before the Act One curtain, and Let’s Get Personal for Bumble and Dame Trott; Greg Last – invisible in the depths of the pit – is the Musical Director.
The costumes and the set are sumptuously designed by Mark Walters – dripping with sparkle, and pretty as a picture-book, especially the land above the clouds, the Giant’s kitchen and the windmill’s rustic interior. Lots of clever touches, too, like the huge duelling utensils, the pinball pudding, the beanstalk itself, huge and pneumatically sinister, and, charmingly old-fashioned, beautiful ombres chinoises for the prologue and the escape from Castle Thunderskull.    

Michael Gray, The Public Reviews, Tues 4 Dec 2012                                                                  

I saw it with my 8 year old son and we both had a really good time. Lots of fun, jokes and slapstick for the kids which had my boy in stitches, and also plenty of jokes just for the adults - some of which I could attempt to explain to my son and some most definitely not!

Very impressive setting and effects, including a proper giant sized giant and some ingenious and innovative use of shadow puppetry to help introduce the story.  Great characters as well. A nasty villain to boo at, a traditional Dame to laugh with -  nicely pitched by Simon Jessop as a sort of cross between Matt Lucas and Les Dawson -  and our hero and his friends to cheer on, all supported by the usual array of characters and songs that one expects to help the entertainment along. Also fun and a bit different was the usual audience participation (oh yes there was!) but spiced up a bit more than usual with a few provocative jokes with a local flavour.

*** Spoiler alert*** (Just in case you grew up in Timbuktu and don't know the story)!

My eight year old son George said “My favourite part was when Jack didn’t want to chop the beanstalk down because his mum would be stuck in cloudland forever. Suddenly, “GERONIMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Jack’s Mum had jumped down from cloudland and Jack chopped and chopped until the beanstalk fell down and that was the end of the Giant!

If a traditional Christmas Pantomime is what you’re after, then I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

 

THE GREAT thing about pantomimes is no one is ever too old to go, so it is at least one bit of festive fun that we will always be able to hold on to with the boys without hearing the usual moans of “I’m too old!”
In actual fact it was the boys enquiring about what pantos they’d be seeing this festive season that led us to enjoying a bit of Jack and the Beanstalk at the Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch.
A truly magical scene awaited us at the Queen’s Theatre thanks to an amazing stage design that set the mood for fun as soon as we sat down.
With an outstanding cast, supported by the efforts of a group of wonderful children, the story unfolded with a few of the Queen’s very own twists and turns, all of which led to lots of laughter, shouting and audience participation.
Simple Simon delighted with a performance that was at times reminiscent of the extremely funny Frank Spencer in Some Mothers Do ‘Av ‘Em, and just when I thought I had seen the best panto dame costume ever, out came another, so I was eventually torn between whether I liked the toad in the hole ensemble or the tree design best.
Mix this with a ‘real’ giant that left kids’ mouths gaping, fantastic songs and a great script, I would say (without giving too much away) that the panto is a must for families, or anyone else come to think of it.

Nicholas Pegg’s Jack and the Beanstalk, directed by Matt Devitt, is a classic story, superbly told with all the best theatrical
slapstick including a wallpapering scene that had my nine-year-old son laughing so much it hurt! It’s a sketch done a million
times by all the best slapstick artists from Laurel and Hardy to the Chuckle Brothers but Mark Newnham as Simple Simon and
Sean Needham as Mr Bumble are a welcome addition to the list of honour.
Everything in this production is on a big scale, whether it be the dance routines, the sumptuous set, the fast growing beanstalk, a wonderfully dexterous pantomime cow and a hulking giant. The scene-makers and prop masters should receive just as big a round of applause as the cast, of Billy Irving and Samuel Ward-Smith deserve all the plaudits for their unseen machinations as Buttercup the cow, the giant and Minerva, the golden egg-laying chicken.
Taking centre stage is Simon Jessop, a dame in the classic mould with a line or two for the adults that hopefully whizzed over the heads of the youngsters who were bedazzled by his fantastical array of weird and whacky costumes. There’s never a dull moment when he’s on stage – but then there’s never a dull moment in this production from the moment ‘old lady’ Allison Harding introduces us to the plot via some imaginative shadow puppetry to the final joyous scenes of the inevitable wedding and applause-laden
curtain call.
Jack, as ever, is a rather fetching girl in tights and shorts and thigh-slapping Alison Thea-Skot carries off the part well, while
understated Natasha Moore is the perfect foil as the silkily-voiced love interest.
Of course we have to have a baddie and James Earl Adair is a veritable villain and a half as Fleshcreep – soaking up the boos and whipping the joyous youngsters in the audience into a frenzy every time he took to the stage. Wonderful stuff!
It doesn’t seem that long ago that the prophets of doom were calling the death knell on pantos. Over the last few years they been proved to be wildly off the mark. Long may the Queen’s Cut to the Chase resident company prosper.

We had been lucky enough to visit the Queens Theatre before for two of their other productions, Cinderella (2011) and Peter Pan (earlier this year) so we knew we were in for a magical evening! From the moment we stepped foot into the theatre foyer, once again we were met with excitable and smiling faces all round! We are always made to feel welcome at the Queens!

The performance itself was a festival of colour, fun and laughter from beginning to end. Once again, the principal roles were played by the theatre's resident company, Cut to the Chase, who, in our opinion, never fail to impress and entertain! Alongside the professionals, 24 local schoolchildren joined the stage, taking on the roles of villagers, goblins and dainty, light-footed rainbow sprites!

The show is exciting and captivating from the very beginning, as the story begins pretty much as we all know it. Until we are introduced to the eccentric Dame Trot and her many costume changes. To say that she brightens up the stage would not really do actor, Simon Jessop, justice. From the performances we have seen, this man makes the perfect dame! And judging by his Gangnam Style moves on stage this year, it would seem his talents don't stop there!

With other characters including Jack's sweet best friend, Jill (Natasha Moore), the sly Fleshcreep (James Earl Adair) the bumbling Mr Bumble (Sean Needham) and the loyal and loveable pets Buttercup the Cow (Billy Irving & Samuel Ward Smith) and Minerva the Chicken (Samuel Ward Smith), the story begins to unfold into a series of events that are sure to have you laughing and joining in with the familiar calls of "He's behind you!!!!" And to top it all off, Billy Irving also treats the audience to a delightfully large and loud Giant Thunderskull in a way I never expected!

I laughed, I gasped, I sang, I shouted, I clapped, I booed and I cheered. Best of all, I followed Jack and his friends all the way up that beanstalk into the magical Land in the Clouds and was well and truly a part of their adventure throughout the performance. The music was expertly composed and wonderfully performed, the set was skilfully constructed and cleverly employed, the story was adapted brilliantly and the characters were cast perfectly. Everything about Jack and the Beanstalk at the Queens just worked!

Jack and the Beanstalk will continue to run at the Queens Theatre, Hornchurch until the 12th January, 2013 and we recommend the show to anyone who is able to go! You are guaranteed 2 full hours of pure entertainment. Every performance leaves me even more excited about their next creation!

Liz Tumbridge, Hart of the Munchkin Patch blogspot, Monday 10 December 2012
 

Well there was a man dressed as a paintbrush, a woman pretending to be a man and a cow being milked Gangnam style.

No, not some bizarre cabaret, just the Queen's Theatre in Hornchurch serving up traditional panto fun.

Jaclk and the Banstalk writer Nicholas PEgg must have smiled to himself, coming up with a cracking script that had the audience laughing and groaning at lines like~: "We can't pay the rent. We'll have to move to Dagenham... Things are bad, but not that bad." "You can't demolish my windmill to make way for a multistorey car park... it's wrong on so many levels." And, as the beanstalk makes a grand entrance: "There's a lot we're not being told about modified vegetables."

Sean Needham, as a butterfly catcher, has the most lines of double entendre, delivered straight-faced. I never knew that it was possible to say so many rude things about lepidoptery.

Simon Jessop, as Jack's mum Dame Trott, commands the stage in a series of fantastical outfits and James Earl Adair makes a great baddie.

Alison  Thea-Skot as Jack and Natasha Moore as Jill are the happy couple. The cast were joined by young local dancers. Big sparkly sets and the giant add to the magic.

Until January 12. Ti kets £14-£24. Box office on 01708 443333 or visit www.queens-theatre.co.uk

-Kate Pettigrew, Romford Recorder, Fri 7 Dec 2012 

With a blinding set sparkling like a giant Christmas card, the rest just followed in the same style and it was a question of sit back and enjoy.
Jack and the Beanstalk, directed by Matt Devitt and designed by Mark Waters, saw the 'A' team of the Queen's Theatre company, Cut to the Chase, on top form with the welcome return of favourites, James Earl Adair, Ali Harding, Simon Jessop and Natasha Moore.
This was family favourite panto, with one-liners flying around the auditorium like Cornish pixies – and you dare not blink for fear of missing something!
Simon Jessop needs no help when it comes to going over the top as a Dame, and this year he sported some of the most outrageous costumes from Jean Roberts.
James Earl Adair is an actor of unlimited superlatives, and proved it with a character called Fleshcreep. He had the kids standing on the seats and adults jumping up yelling at him to get off. Not perhaps what every actor wants to hear, but James turned his role into an accolade of noise and fun.
Enter Allison Harding, one of the most accomplished and talented actresses in the business, and even turning up dressed like Widow Twanky sporting the name of Mrs Thunderskull, she was like everyone's mum, fairy godmother and all round good egg.
Natasha Moore played the eye candy, and ended up marrying the handsome prince. Bringing all her experience of being the focus of attention, she floated round the stage to the appreciation of all the boys in the audience.
For those who saw Return to the Forbidden Planet, Captain Tempest was unrecognisable as Mr Bumble. With another good performance Sean Needham reminded me of fellow actor, Stuart Organ, who can step into any costume and make it his own. I liked Sean's gentle reactions in the slapstick scene with Simple Simon (Mark Newnham) even if he did end up with a bucket of wallpaper paste over his head and losing his wig. We did not get a reprise of his superb guitar skills, but he managed to get the auditorium going with his character.
The handsome prince was Alison Thea-Skot who was a whizz at thigh-slapping. Her debut was in Peter Pan in the summer and she is an actress whose future appearances can only be keenly anticipated.
There were some lovely performances from the youngsters in the chorus who matched the actors in spirit and exuberance, and last but not least there was Billy Irving and Sam Ward-Smith, two talented, young, up-and-coming actors who rose from the Queen's Youth Theatre and Community Company. A duo to keep an eye on for the future even if they were dressed up as Buttercup the Cow, Minerva the Chicken and Giant Thunderskull. The clapometer went off the scale at their curtain call so well done lads.
A really fun night out and one that shone with glitter from John Ayers' scenery, music from Carol Sloman and Greg Last, and the pen of Nicholas Pegg. The show runs until Saturday, January 12. Bookings on 01708 443333.

Barry Kirk, Brentwood Gazette, Weds 5 Dec 2012  

Resembling Helena Bonham Carter in Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland, Simon Jessop’s garish Dame Trott garb has to be seen to be believed. He’ll plead with you not to applaud his painful puns and incessant innuendo. However, like a mince pie, Jessop’s a festive treat that never disappoints.

Aside from the inevitable Gangnam Style, cliche pop renditions are replaced instead by Carol Sloman’s superb original numbers, with My Favourite Unsuitable Friend subsequently a notable highlight, delivered deliciously by Alison Thea-Skot’s thigh-slapping Jack and Natasha Moore’s love-struck Jill.

Rivalling Helen Flanagan in the unpopularity stakes, James Earl Adair’s greedy Fleshcreep channels a concoction of the Child Catcher and Guy Fawkes, and while more Chuckle Brothers than the Two Ronnies, Mark Newnham (Simple Simon) and Sean Needham’s (Mr Bumble) decorating sketch brings welcome slapstick to the table.

When the inventive 12ft Giant Thunderskull finally emerges to dramatic effect, we’re just a Stuart Hall away from It’s a Knockout.

This is a production fuelled by good old-fashioned humour.

- Nick Dines, The Stage, Weds 5 Dec 2012

CHILDREN and adults alike know the story back to front and inside out. The trick for anyone writing a new pantomime script for a popular, not to say favourite, legend is to keep the familiar but dust just the right amount of fresh magic onto it to ensure that attention stays firmly fixed on the action and the characters. Nicholas Pegg’s 13th pantomime for the Queen's Theatre succeeds in this admirably.
He's helped by Carol Sloman’s catchy score, which is lyrical at just the right moments – the Jack and Jill duet and the slow-building ensemble which starts with a solo voice and builds to a quintet and then full chorus – and some glitteringly imaginative sets and costumes by Mark Walters. The cast throws itself wholeheartedly into the magical world prefigured by puppets showing us the back story while a kindly old woman tells us how the giant came by his ill-gotten gains and at what personal cost to her.
Allison Harding doubles this character with Giant Thunderskull's hard-done-by wife. Hard-done-by might also describe the widowed Dame Trott (Simon Jessop in a succession of fantastic outfits and even more incredible wigs). Alison Thea-Skot is our hero and pulls off the (for an endangered species) the difficult double-act of being a thigh-slapping and thoroughly traditional principal boy in the 21st century.
Fleshcreep is the grasping landlord and giant's henchman we all love to boo and hiss. James Earl Adair wears his livid green and black with panache, with a resemblance to the famous engraving of the Gunpowder Plotters in both make-up and costume style. Malcolm Ranson has choreographed a good duel with Jack in the second-act scene set in the giant's kitchen where the combatants wield outsized kitchen implements. Natasha Moore makes a charming heroine, a proper match for Jack.
Buttercup the cow, the giant and Minerva the golden-egg laying hen are subsumed in Billy Irving and Samuel Ward-Smith.  Sean Needham (in fine voice) plays Mr Bumble, Jill's over-protective father; director Matt Devitt allows him to be something more than a mere fall-guy, though he takes many a tumble in the paper-hanging scene with Mark Newnham’s Simple Simon. Greg Last, Chris Reid and Nick Sayce do sterling work in the pit.
– Anne Morley Priestman, Whatsonstage.com, Tue 4 Dec 2012 
 

I was lucky enough to go along to see the Panto on Monday night and it was fab. The Queens always puts on a good show and this was no different. Fantastic sets and costumes and lots of panto style humour!!

The kids in the audience loved it - especially booing the villanous Fleshcreep and gasping when the giant came on stage with Fee Fi Fo Fum....

A really good time was had by all