Review: JACK AND THE BEANSTALK, Lyric Hammersmith

With winter nights growing ever darker and Christmas just around the corner, now is the perfect time to treat yourself to everyone's favourite festive entertainment. Who doesn't love a pantomime?

This year, the Lyric Hammersmith's offering is a re-imagining of Jack and the Beanstalk. Directed by Nicholai La Barrie, this production emulates the joy of waving a sparkler around the bonfire as a child. Nostalgia is thrust into the present with a soundtrack packed full of Beyonce, Billie Eilish and many more.

The writers (Jude Christian and Sonia Jalaly) have done an excellent job of including all the classic panto gags without subjecting anyone to scrutiny. It's rare that such a show would be so accommodating whilst still maintaining the expected humour, but even the most enthusiastic of panto fans are sure to be satisfied.

Stage effects impress throughout, and fantastical lighting (Elliot Griggs) elevates the kaleidoscopic set and costume (Good Teeth). What you're presented with is an environment full of bright theatricality that gives the traditional pantomime a modern lift. There's even a robot giant at the end of the beanstalk... (oh no there's not, oh yes there is!)

Jack (Leah St Luce) guides us through the typical narrative for this tale - she climbs the beanstalk that has sprouted from the magic beans received after selling the family cow. St Luce is at home in this role, she's enigmatic from start to finish and perfectly captures a youthful heroine that her audience can root for; her musical theatre credits are extensive and it's no surprise why.

Lively best friend Jill (Maddison Bulleyment) accompanies Jack, full of hope that their friendship can withstand the journey up the beanstalk. Jill reveals that they are, in fact, a fairy, anxious to finally become a fully-fledged fairy godparent by granting Jack three wishes. In truth, this plot line felt stretched too thin, but Bulleyment makes up for this with their powerful vocals and enthusiastic audience interaction.

The classic pantomime dame is too often offensive, presented as a tawdry man emulating the ridiculousness of femininity. Dame Trott (Emmanuel Akwafo) is a fiercely funny mother with all the glamour and attitude of a high camp drag queen. Akwafo could easily give any of the Ru Paul's Drag Race winners a run for their money as dame of the hour.

The show nemesis, Fleshcreep (Jodie Jacobs) receives roaring boos from the audience every time he trots onto stage. A true imitation of the Napoleon complex, the trailing ends of his sentences are similar to Matt Berry's dramatically dry vampire, Laszlo Cravensworth (What We Do In The Shadows.) Jacobs is sensational, offering the perfect drag king persona for Dame Trott to loathe and crave in equal measure.

Simon (Finlay McGuigan) easily finds a rolling rapport with the audience, as he frequently skates around the stage between scenes for snippets of his own entertainment, "The Simon Show." McGuigan is agile and mischievous as Jack's often forgotten brother, but at some moments the pace could have benefitted from a much-needed gear shift had these skits been snappier.

Overall, the Lyric Hammersmith have succeeded in renovating Jack and the Beanstalk into an amusing tale, stuffed with plenty of pop-culture references that, thankfully, don't make you cringe. Jack and her family are loyal to Hammersmith and frequently encourage the crowd to join in proclaiming their love of the area. In their 13th year of pantomime production, this show certainly feels a fitting tribute to the theatre's dedication to joyful entertainment and the area in which they make their home.

A word of warning that when it comes to timing, the advertised running time is 120 minutes, including a 20-minute interval. Due to a combination of a late start and overrunning scenes, the show ended a full 40 minutes later than expected. Hopefully, this timekeeping is ironed out to avoid crowds of parents trying to wrangle their overtired, very excited children back to their beds.

Jack and the Beanstalk is at the Lyric Hammersmith until 7 January 2023

Photo Credit: Helen Murray

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