Jack and the Beanstalk

Synopsis

Jack, a dim boy, sells the family's cow, their last remaining possession, for some 'magic beans', his mother is furious and throws them out of the window. Next morning there is a magic beanstalk, which Jack climbs to the land of the giant. There he rescues the love interest, and the goose that lays the golden eggs and runs away as the giant returns booming 'fee, fie, foe, fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman!' and occasionally 'Be he alive or be he dead I'll grind his bones to make my bread' depending on how bloodthirsty the panto is! As the giant follows Jack down the beanstalk Jack grabs an axe and chops it down thus killing the him.

Our Review:

7 December 2007

The programme for the Barbican pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk, written by Jonathan Harvey with songs by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, opens out to make a height chart: as long as you’re not taller than 150 cm, you’ll know exactly where you stand.

And you can pick up a few jokes, too. Such as: what’s the fastest vegetable? A runner bean. Some of these – and that one - are better than those in Harvey’s script, such as somebody being as fed up as Vanessa Feltz in a lean cuisine factory, or as Lindsay Lohan in a juice bar.

Harvey’s script is pretty neat, though, and I think an improvement on last year’s effort by Mark Ravenhill. The trouble is the Barbican auditorium is so inimical to the pantomime experience that it really feels like hard work until Giles Havergal’s expert production absorbs your confidence.

At least all the right bits of audience participation are in the right place this year, and the big bonus is Andy Gray’s Dame ...

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Latest User Review

Kevin McD - 11 January 2008:

A total waste of time! No that's not fair, Mad Matty worked very hard and was as funny as the dire script allowed. Andy Gray seemed really pxxxed off with the audience and didn't appear to be enjoying himself at all so we (a party of 6) couldn't respond. The best dames can insult the audience and make them laugh and I'd been told he's Scotland's current No 1 - Oh well....

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