Jack and the Beanstalk – Royal & Derngate, Northampton

Writer: Paul Hendy

Directors: Bob Golding and Emily Wood

Regional panto is alive and thriving, and Jack and the Beanstalk at the Royal & Derngate sits there among the best. It’s living proof, if proof were needed, that you don’t need massive budgets, big casts and spectacular effects to provide some excellent family entertainment – and from the reactions of a theatre full of excited children waiting for the show to start at the press performance, they knew they were in for a treat too.

Produced by Evolution Productions, four times winners of Pantomime of the Year, Jack and the Beanstalk is written by Paul Hendy – and Hendy has produced a gem of a script. It’s complete with the usual local and topical references with lots of gags to appeal to the younger audience members, but it has an extra layer of sophistication that you don’t always find – political and theatrical jokes, without a hint of any smut or innuendo. There’s a nice mix of the tried and tested panto material and some more original stuff. It’s pretty much guaranteed to keep an audience entertained.

Star billing this year goes to Keala Settle, as Fairy Sugarsnap. This is Settle’s first appearance in panto, and she makes the best of a role that inevitably gives her too little to do. She has a powerhouse of a voice and it would be nice if we had the chance to hear more of it – though what she does get to sing, she delivers well. Opposite Settle as the baddie Richard David-Caine plays the giant’s henchman Luke Backinanger, complete with, as he says, a non-specific foreign accent. David-Caine seizes the opportunity he’s given with relish and seems entirely at home in the role. He’s not afraid to go off-script when necessary either, to keep things moving along.

If ever there was someone born to play the Dame it’s panto stalwart Bob Golding, back in Northampton as Dame Trott, and co-director. As usual we have the outrageous costumes – including an extremely funny Elton John moment – and jokes that are so daft that they’re very funny.

Alex Lodge is a typically clean-cut Jack, with Cara Dudgeon as a feisty Jess and Ben Thornton as Billy. All three demonstrate good vocals and work well together to provide a lot of the momentum of the show. With a principal line-up of just six, it’s no surprise that they all end up working very hard, being hardly off stage throughout the show. Good support is provided by the ensemble of six villagers, who entertain with sound choreography (thanks to Simon Barnum) and well-delivered vocal numbers.

There’s so much that’s good about this production that it’s a shame that it’s spoilt slightly by the poor balance between the band and the cast. Far too many of the underscored lines are getting lost as a result, which is a pity – with a script this good, you wonder what gems you’ve missed when they couldn’t be heard.

That aside, this is a very entertaining classic family pantomime – a production you know it’s safe to take your children to with no fear of something unsuitable popping up, a real local treat for the Christmas season.

Runs Until 2 January 2023