We went to see Jack and the Beanstalk panto at Lowther Pavilion in Lytham - and it's a real Christmas cracker

The cast of Jack and the Beanstalk fill the Lytham theatre with festive delight as they deliver jokes aplenty with perfect comic timing: ‘I paid a joiner to make a double bed; he did a bunk’.

The show – by Paul Holman Associates – is certainly a Christmas cracker.

REVIEW

By Julian Wilde

A Saturday matinee brought a packed family audience to the Lowther Pavilion for an appealing and entertaining production of Jack and the Beanstalk.

The soft Glaswegian accent and clear speaking of James Dinsmore as Dame Dotty Trott means that his/her every joke, every eye flash and simper, every gesture come across perfectly – a commanding, funny and likeable stage presence.

The bubbly Darren Wright excels as Silly Simon, singing, dancing and clowning with cheerful vigour.

He sustains an ever-longer tongue twister superbly to much appreciation.

Lytham-educated James Dangerfield, last seen locally as Shakespeare’s Henry V, fully inhabits the role of Fleshcreep, the Giant’s henchman, as his effective and ghoulish make-up, evil voice and creepy angularity readily excite the audience to a crescendo of booing.

Ellie Sharpe as Princess Primrose and Jack Osmond as Jack both sing and dance with tunefulness and vigour, but are not given sufficient forceful lines, whilst Michael Garland neatly portrays the king as bumbling and Oxford donnish.

Holly Goodenough (the Spirit of the Beans) recites her rhyming couplets studiously, but this particular panto convention seems to have little interest to children of the 21st century.

The well-drilled supporting ensemble have all the right moves and deftly operate Daisy, an adorable and characterful cow, and a three metre Blunderbore.

High energy, high entertainment, high spirits.

Runs until January 2. Tickets at www.lowtherpavilion.co.uk or (01253) 794221.