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Phil Hopkins
Group Travel Editor & Theatre Correspondent
@philhopkinsuk
8:44 AM 12th December 2017
arts

LBT Builds Its Panto Following

 
Robin Simpson as Dame Dorothy Trott, Alisha Simone as Buttercup and Thomas Cotran as Jack Trott
Robin Simpson as Dame Dorothy Trott, Alisha Simone as Buttercup and Thomas Cotran as Jack Trott
Last year Huddersfield’s Lawrence Batley Theatre brought tradition back to the town in the shape of Cinderella. This year they have built on that year-one following with a super Jack & The Beanstalk which bodes well for the venue’s 2018 hat-trick.

This was a very traditional panto with all the usual ‘business’ and, whilst there wasn’t a digital screen or a hydraulic platform in sight, I have to say that the scenery and back drops were superb as, indeed, were Dame Trott’s wonderful costume changes. Robin Simpson barely entered the stage without sporting a new outrageous outfit.

The story itself follows a fairly strict pattern with some regional nuances and, as usual, a string of cringeworthy gags. Times are hard for young Jack and his mother. Forced to sell his beloved cow, poor Jack comes home with nothing but a few beans. But when the beans grow into a giant beanstalk, the silly lad – aka Thomas Cotran - finds himself in a world of thrills and adventure.

The show was a bit slow at first, largely the result of too much ‘front end’ dialogue, certainly from Dame Trott and Jack but, once it picked up pace, there was lots of fun, frolics and audience participation.

James McLean as Nightshade and Alisha Simone as Buttercup
James McLean as Nightshade and Alisha Simone as Buttercup
There was a singalong, lots of booing resident ‘baddy’, the nauseous Nightshade played by James McLean, and maybe the fact that Buttercup the cow was having difficulty giving milk had something to do with the fact that ‘she’ had horns! Even Freddie Mercury got in on the act;
look out for Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody!

It was also nice to see young dancers, euphemistically known as ‘sunbeams’ in traditional pantos, and a number with Dame Trott would not have been out of place.

Declan Wilson’s King Crackpot was as broad as a Barnsley chop, whilst his songstress daughter, Megan Turner as Princess Jill, was straight out of a Beatles tribute band!

Declan Wilson as King Crackpot
Declan Wilson as King Crackpot
Overall a great little panto where prices range from £12-£18 compared with Bradford’s Alhambra where, sometimes, they hit the £40 market. This is not a ‘big name’ production but it is fun, well-worth a visit and easy on the pocket in austere times; remember even Jack had to sell the family cow!

Jack & The Beanstalk
Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield
Until Saturday 6th January 2018