Potted Panto – Apollo Theatre, London

Writers: Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner

Director: Richard Hurst

London’s children are very busy; it is the week before Christmas and they just don’t have time to sit through a full two-hour pantomime, never mind seeing all six of the classics in one festive season. Luckily, Potted Panto, returning for its 12th year, has the answer: a 70-minute dash through all of the major stories and a reflection on the classic panto tropes. Now at the Apollo Theatre for a limited run, Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner’s show is as much a part of Christmas as the stories they parody.

Dan and Jeff disagree about the number of classic pantos; Jeff thinks there are six – Jack and the Beanstalk, Dick Whittington, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White and Aladdin – and is determined to act them all out; Dan agrees with all of those but adds Mary Poppins, Das Boot and his favourite, A Christmas Carol which he insists they perform as well. But Dan knows nothing about panto so Jeff decides to teach him.

Potted Panto is a solid Christmas offering that remains much the same each year and that’s no bad thing. The essential panto-goes-wrong scenario continues to hit all the comedy markers as Dan messes up the ‘It’s Behind You’ gag a few times, Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother costume is not quite what Jeff expected and Prince Charming refuses to kiss strange, sleeping women so comes up with a variety of alternative techniques. In fact, the arrogant hero is one the show’s great recurring characters who gets all the stage time he deserves as he makes his way through a number of Princess-wives and even an audience member.

What changes year on year are the references that keep it contemporary, even if, by their own admission, their 20-year-old music choices do not. There’s a sharp sally directed at Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary which Dan includes on his list of pantos, Tiny Tim demands better pay for nurses and the latest John Lewis Christmas advert is also briefly sent-up as Dan arrives on a skateboard in front of some Christmas trees.

And panto wouldn’t be panto without plenty of audience interaction and there is more than enough here from the classic shout-outs and sound effects to individual audience members getting caught up in the stories – in this case a child darkly suggesting Abanazar’s punishment is to be hung, drawn and quartered which momentarily throws the performers but they take it all in their stride. And if that’s not enough, the entire room is on their feet acting out a dangerous carriage ride before the inevitable finale singalong.

So, if you have a very busy child then Potted Panto is the show for you, performed with plenty of gusto by writers Clarkson and Turner supported by Charlotte Payne as the beautiful fairy and Jacob Jackson as a chestnut seller. Six pantos and A Christmas Carol plus a lesson on the traditions of the genre all in 70-minutes, Potted Panto does exactly what it says on the tin.

Runs until 8 January 2023