Jack and the Beanstalk at Wyllyotts Theatre | Review

Produced by Jordan Productions and written by Chris Jordan this is a fun adaptation of the classic fairytale, Jack & The Beanstalk.

The story begins in Stoneybroke’s town square where King Custard (Nicholas Pound) proclaims an increase in rent to compensate for the loss of his golden goose who having been stolen by Fleshcreep (Jon de Ville) was now living in the clouds above the town with Giant Blunderbore (Gary Fisher). Fleshcreep later kidnaps King Custard’s daughter, Princess Jill (Laura Mae Colclough) with the King later proclaiming his daughter’s hand in marriage to the person who manages to rescue her.

The tale is narrated by Fairy Fuchsia (Nicola Bryan) who pops up at regular intervals; Bryan delivers her lines with some excellent comic timing (I particularly enjoyed a scene involving the Fairy and Fleshcreep).

Jon De Ville is excellent as Fleshcreep managing to portray the baddy’s evil side extremely well. Frankie Jones (Jack Trott) gives a solid performance as the nice, but dim, thigh slapping, good guy. Tom Lowe (Dame Trott) is wonderfully camp and helps bring some great comedy to the production. Nicholas Pound’s (King Custard) performance shows a great mix of serious and comedy. Laura Mae Colclough (Princess Jill) performance is enhanced by her wonderful singing. Gary Fisher’s appearance as Giant Blunderbore was good, albeit brief. I also have to mention Clarabelle the cow who was lots of fun and was perfectly animated.

For me, the star of the show was Ben Rawlings who gave a superb performance as Jack’s brother, Simple Simon. Rawlings delivered his lines well and was completely engaged with the audience from start to finish.

Tom Bayliss’ music was excellent and was well played by Tom, Phil Marriott and Allan Simpson. All of the songs were catchy with nods to Michael Jackson, the Spice Girls and Baby Shark. I particularly enjoyed a scene involving Simple Simon and Dame Trott in the Trott’s kitchen which imitated the classic Morecambe & Wise breakfast sketch. Julia Cave’s choreography was energetic enhancing the production’s score.

Shelley Claridge’s costumes were both colourful and sparkly. I particularly liked Fleshcreep’s glittery suit
and “1970s glam rock” make up. The whole production was well staged and directed. Imagine Theatre’s set and effects were in keeping with the piece.

A thoroughly enjoyable panto.

Review by Karen Pond

Cast and Creatives
King Custard – Nicholas Pound
Jack Trott – Frankie Jones
Princess Jill – Laura Mae Colclough
Simple Simon – Ben Rawlings
Fairy Fuchsia – Nicola Bryan
Fleshcreep – Jon De Ville
Dame Trott – Tom Lowe
Giant Blunderbore – Gary Fisher
Written by – Chris Jordan
Director & Choreography Julia Cave
Musical Director – Tom Bayliss
Lighting Designer – John Castle
Sound Engineer – Hannah MacDonald
Production Manager – Jennifer Hunter
Set Provided by Imagine Theatre Ltd

Jack and the Beanstalk runs from Sat 15th Dec – Sun 6th Jan 2019
Performances are generally 1pm and 5pm daily.
Wyllyotts Theatre
Wyllyotts Place
Darkes Lane
Potters Bar
HERTS, EN6 2HN