Gardening guru Charlie Dimmock stars as Fairy Organic in Jack and the Beanstalk, at Worthing’s Connaught Theatre from December 6 – January 4, the traditional pantomime story of a boy who sells his family cow for magic beans, unleashing a fairytale battle between good and evil.
Charlie has been one of the nation’s favourite gardeners since joining Alan Titchmarsh and Tommy Walsh in the BBC flagship make-over programme Groundforce. Since then she has presented The Joy of Gardening, Charlie’s Garden Army, The Chelsea Flower Show and appeared on Celebrity Master Chef and The Games. She is also no stranger to live theatre, having toured in Calendar Girls alongside Sue Holderness, Letitia Dean and Gemma Craven, as well as playing Fairy Godmother in Cinderella at Windsor.
Charlie is joined by Sussex Heart Breakfast’s Tom Evans and Jack Hayes playing the King and the Chamberlain, while funny-man Tony Rudd returns to the Connaught Theatre after his performance in last year’s Sleeping Beauty. Tony will pepper his panto performance as Simple Simon with voices as varied as the Daleks and Dame Edna, Spiderman and Louie Spence.
There will be traditional ghost gags, plenty of sing-along songs and dame-driven laughs with dotty Dame Trott as well as yuletide frolics with Daisy the Cow and Princess Amelia when a sky-high beanstalk stretches through the clouds to the home of giant Blunderbore. In the giant’s domain, Jack Trott and Fairy Organic must take on the might of the giant’s sidekick Fleshcreep.
This year Jack and the Beanstalk also includes a relaxed performance for anyone who may not be comfortable in a traditional theatre setting. The performance on Thursday January 2 at 2pm has had the dramatic lighting, theatrical sound and special effects adjusted so that audience-members may move around and enjoy the show as they wish without feeling overwhelmed by their surroundings. There will also be a safe zone for anyone who wishes to unwind before they feel ready to return to the auditorium.
Pantomime producer Paul Holman says: “This will be the third time Charlie has played Fairy Organic for us in Jack and the Beanstalk. I think what has always left a lasting impression for me is Charlie’s willingness and enthusiasm. She gives 100 percent all the time and can often be found meeting and greeting audiences after the show.”