Stockport Plaza is alive with laughter from both young and old which means we must be in the midst of panto season. Oh Yes we are!
The Everyman Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto is a huge Liverpool Christmas ritual, it is almost as much of a festive tradition as matching Christmas jumpers and a trip to Father Christmas’ grotto. It uses a familiar tried and tested format, changing its title year to year and bringing back the same writers, performers and infallible formula.
Jack and the Beanstalk is a giant pantomime production with lots of heart, joy, singing, and laughter. This year the crew at the Oldham Coliseum take on the challenge of providing a modern twist on the classic fairy tale – the local giant is obsessed with consuming all the electrical goods of Oldham, which requires a poverty-stricken Jack (and his best mate Jill) to scale the clouds and to recover the local children’s phones, tablets, laptops and televisions just in time for Christmas.
Oh no its not! Oh yes it is!....... and what better way for a school half term treat than popping on down to St Helens Theatre Royal to watch a first class show suitable for all ages which is thoroughly entertaining in every way.
Birmingham Hippodrome is proud to announce that the break-out star of Michael Harrison’s recent London Palladium revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jac Yarrow will play The Prince in this year’s must-see pantomime, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs which plays from Saturday 21st December 2019 - Sunday 2nd February 2020.
I’m almost certain, most of us are familiar with the story of The Wizard of Oz, if you’re not it’s the bright, warm, fuzzy tale of how best friends, and even better shoes can change a girl’s life.
When you think of pantomimes, you probably think of the once a year treat in the lead up to Christmas to get you in the festive spirit. However, the Easter Panto Tour are currently touring the UK with their version of Beauty and the Beast in an effort to break that tradition and convince us that we should visit panto land more than once a year.
Such a fun show to watch! Alice and Wonderland the Panto at Blackpool Grand Theatre really shows the talent of all the young performing arts students of Blackpool. The storyline of Alice and Wonderland was well portrayed throughout the Panto journey and brought fun and laughter to all the children in the audience. The show is well put together and is aimed at an audience of families and children but I felt that the younger children were more involved and participated in parts.
Every time I venture over the Pennines to see a Manor Operatic show I have to remind myself that they are classed as an amateur company. I also have to remember to pack a finer toothcomb each trip in order to help me analyse their productions in greater detail as they get better year on year.
I’d like to start with people who sometimes get overlooked in reviews, the unsung heroes and for me, tonight’s shining stars and they are the Scenic Artists... People say “the stage crew were great, seamless” but no-one ever really mentions the actual set. The scenes created for this pantomime were very well done. From the woodland to Baron Hardup’s kitchen – all with excellent detail. Over the top, but superbly so... Well done to the artistic team for their talents.
Qdos Entertainment have really hit all the markers with this year’s Christmas pantomime. The Liverpool Empire Theatre was almost completely full this evening. Based on the fairytale, this is a traditional pantomime with modern elements, director Bob Tomson has a wealth of talent to work with and a has a real family friendly hit on his hands.
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