For their annual Christmas Pantomime, the Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne are presenting Jack and the Beanstalk starring panto regulars Martyn Knight and Tucker and, without any doubt, the production shows just how well the two of them work together.
With the emphasis on all the elements that go to make a traditional pantomime, the show is a great reminder of all that makes this peculiarly British form of theatrical entertainment so very popular and so everlasting.
From the opening “puff of smoke” that heralds the entrance of Natalie Hope as Fairy Fuschia, with her wonderful garden-themed wand, through the customary village scene that introduces the other characters and all the way to the, inevitable, wedding, everything is where it should be and that “safety” is what makes the whole thing so enjoyable.
Steven Serlin, as Fleshcreep, is every inch the pantomime baddie and he “feeds” off the hisses and boos that burst forth with his every appearance. He throws his insults at the audience, and they lap it up and simply increase the volume of their participation in order to drown out his venomous words.
Tucker, on the other hand, is the archetypal Simple Simon. With an almost endless supply of bad jokes, he rides through the show on a wave of laughter. The children shout greetings every time he appears and he repays their shouts with slapstick routines and comic precision.
Of course, no pantomime is complete without a Dame and Martyn Knight, with his extensive wardrobe of outrageous costumes and wigs, his flirty banter with the audience and his near-the-knuckle humour is perfect as Dame Trott. In scene after scene he commands the stage, a testament to his years as a pantomime Dame, many of which he has played at Eastbourne.
Katherine Glover, as Jack, and Victoria Farley, as Princess Jill, make a sugary sweet couple who, between them, provide many of the musical numbers. The children are carried along with their love story, and they really feel for the Princess when she gets taken to the Giant’s castle and locked in an oversized birdcage. Eventually they get to cheer wildly as Jack finally vanquishes the evil Giant Blunderbore, operated by John Singh, and gets the hand of the Princess as his reward.
The two remaining principal cast members are Robert Ashe who is suitably majestic as King Custard and Clarabelle the Cow who appears, of course, as herself! They are supported by the enthusiastic dancing of the villagers, Sophia Tyndall-Bristow, Daisy Darvill, Bradley Trevethan and Jonni Gatenby and the juveniles from the Deborah Lamb Theatre Arts School.
There are several “laugh out loud” moments in this production so it is difficult to highlight just one, but I would say that it is probably the “If I Were Not Stood by These Gates” song. Wonderfully slapstick, brilliantly comic and amazingly fast paced it is the kind of routine for which the Devonshire Park pantomime is famous.
**** Four Stars