Panto season gets off to a giant start in Cheltenham (From Gazette Series)

Panto season gets off to a giant start in Cheltenham

12:17pm Monday 28th November 2011 in Leisure By Alexandra Womack

Jack & the Beanstalk at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham

PANTOMIME season is definitely upon us, oh yes it is, and what better way to kickstart the festive season than with the Everyman Theatre’s feel-good family offering.

In the intimate surrounds of this beautiful theatre, Friday night’s audience gave a raucous reception to the launch of this year’s panto, Jack and the Beanstalk.

From the outset this was a show you could not sit back and watch as the energetic cast wanted everyone’s involvement, from the very youngest in the auditorium to grandmothers and granddads. And with such fun and frolics taking place on stage it was impossible not to be drawn in.

With a towering, fully mobile giant, the essential pantomime cow and some fabulously over-the-top costumes, this fun-filled, action-packed show proved it is one not be missed.

Kelli Maybank as Jack and Perry Lambert as love interest Jill provided the voices with numerous power ballads including an impressive rendition of Mariah Carey’s Hero. Zara Ramm as baddie Fleshcreep gave us the perfect amount of cloak-flicking and finger-pointing to get the whole crowd booing and hissing every time she appeared on stage. Her version of Michael Jackson’s Bad was stellar not least for the costumes and dance routine displayed by members of the Corraine Collins Dance Studio.

Dynasty star Emma Samms as the Good Fairy flew on and off stage with the lightest of touches and her rhyming narrative helped keep the infamous story of Jack and the magic beans stay on track, Former Lazytown actor Dan Whiteley almost stole the show as Jack’s hapless brother Silly Billy. His slapstick antics trying to milk Daisy the cow were very funny for kids and adults alike and the energy he brought to the stage every time he appeared lead to a lot of shouting and clapping.

But the biggest applause of the night was rightly reserved for Widow Mrs Trotts (William Elliott) whose Scottish Dame was hilarious from start to finish. Just his ridiculous costumes caused some of the biggest laughter of the night and along with improvised interaction with the audience, plenty of silliness and of course those all-important witty one-liners, Mrs Trotts was a character we all fell in love with.

Jack and the Beanstalk deserved every whoop, cheer and hurray it received on Friday so if you are going be warned, don’t expect to leave without a sore throat.

The panto is on at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham until Sunday, January 8. Call 01242 572573 for tickets.