WHILE Jack and his Beanstalk and Cinderella with her pumpkins dominate the panto circuit, it’s good to see another fairy tale come to life.
Regal Entertainment has done just that with the re-imagined tale of three bears and stolen porridge – what you might call a cereal thriller.
As you can see creaky gags have affected me – oh, yes they have. I have been looking behind me all day.
Panto is where you can let your hair down and this is a vivacious and vibrant production nicely directed by Olivia Sloyan who has her work cut out as she plays the lovely heroine.
It is set in the circus world, so there are some acrobatic feats (and hands) adding to the two and half hour seasonal spectacle.
Children immediately took to the colourful scenario and that is important to establish what’s going on very early in proceedings.
Ringmaster David Tag from Hollyoaks endeared himself not only with the audience but with love interest Goldilocks. Silly Billy (played by an enthusiastic and hard-working Brandon McCaffrey) lost out in the love stakes, but he’ll get over it.
The choreography by Nadine Langfield and the company costumes are top notch as you would expect from panto legends Chantelle Nolan and Jane Joseph in this tried and tested festive formula.
And the songs are wide-ranging from musical director Callum Clarke who features Elton John’s Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting, 80s classic Music from John Miles and Queen’s The Show Must Go On.
The cartoon-esque trio of bears deserves a round of a-paws (oh, suit yourselves): Daddy (Benjamin Keith); Mummy (Hannah Riley), and Baby ( Katy Mac) raise plenty of visual laughs and their collective Scouse accents prove popular.
Written by Reece Sibbald, I am happy to say that Liz Truss gets a name-check – she has been a stalwart of scripts this year. Reece has not relied too much on innuendoes which is a good thing as some shows have gone beyond the limit on the risque-ometer.
Dame Gertie is played by Mama G sporting some sparkling outfits (The Elvis number is a gem) which would have knocked Danny La Rue off his stilletos.
And last - but certainly not least - as he really does provide a stellar performance throughout is the talented and versatile Timothy Lucas as Baron Von Vippemall who cracks his whip with glee and is a master of ad-libbing.
Tim connects with the kids with his character morphing into a cross between Batman’s Joker, Dick Dastardly from Wacky Races, and The Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Those who have seen Tim in Blood Brothers as Sammy will be aware of his many comic touches. The batty Baron already deserves my Wirral Globe villain of the year title in my Panto Awards.
But this is all down to teamwork and Regal Entertainments again ensures that the show works on all levels.
Verdict
4 Stars
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