REVIEW: Jack and the Beanstalk at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry
Having attended the annual pantomime at Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre for the last few years, we were excited to hear that this year’s was one of our all time favourites, Jack and the Beanstalk!
Arriving at the theatre, it felt like Christmas was on it’s way from the pretty Christmas lights in Coventry city centre as we made our way to the theatre, to the buzz in the foyer when we arrived at the Belgrade Theatre that can only come with the imminent showing of a pantomime. The foyer was packed with excited families, all ready to get Christmas started with the annual tradition of a pantomime visit.
We collected our programme, made our way to our seats and waited to for the show to begin…
The show started with the entrance of Jack Trott’s mother, the pantomime ‘dame’ who had the audience in the palm of their hands, with humour that children throughout the audience seemed to love but cleverly, the same jokes seemed to appeal to adults ensuring that this was very clearly a show that the whole family would enjoy from start to finish.
The local references in the panto got a few boos and a few cheers and most people seemed to love the use of the ‘Binley Mega Chippy’ sensation, but obviously rebranded to ‘Prickly Bottom Chippy’ and later to ‘Simon’s Mega Chippy’ after Jack’s brother, who was a very loveable character and the audience seemed to love, singing along whenever he commanded.
Daisy the cow was also a hit, and was a true depiction of everything that is pantomime, being bright pink and very rebellious!
The typical pantomime characteristics (that this would not be a pantomime without) such as the villain (the evil Blunderbore the giant), lots of ‘oh no he isn’t and oh yes he is’, not forgetting ‘he’s behind you’ ensured that this was the classic pantomime performance that we all remember from our own childhoods. For those younger audience members seeing a pantomime for the first time, the show will no doubt be looked upon nostalgically in the way that we do as well.
The story of Jack and the Beanstalk that we all know and love was told wonderfully with a good few jokes and songs along the way and the children in audience (my seven year old included) seemed captivated throughout.
The pantomime overall was one of the best we have seen at the Belgrade Theatre with excellent audience interaction, brilliant acting and beautifully designed brightly coloured sets, starting off pantomime season and of course Christmas itself brilliantly.
The Belgrade Theatre is friendly, seats were easy to find and were spaced out and comfortable, ensuring that this was a seamless and enjoyable family evening out that everyone seemed to enjoy, regardless of how old (or young!) they were.
The show is on from now until 7 January and tickets, and further information, can be found here.