Month: December 2022

Children’s creativity is said to be at the heart of Stuff and Nonsense Theatre Company’s productions and that is very apparent in its fun and inventive Christmas offering Pinocchio. It’s all very homespun with plenty of ideas for kids to copy: wooden spoon puppets, teaspoon arms, toilet plunger noses and cushion cover manes the genesis of… Continue reading Pinocchio

Charles Court Opera boutique pantos are always quirky, whether in subject or treatment, and this year’s is no exception. It pretty well jettisons the traditional story, polishing it off in the opening number, for when everyone already knows Rumpelstiltskin’s real name, that plot has already been undermined. Now, faced with the top-hatted and frock-coated Dreamcatcher,… Continue reading Rumpelstiltskin

Celebrity siblings AJ and Curtis Pritchard (Strictly and Love Island respectively) along with CBeebies presenter Evie Pickerill are the headline stars in Imagine Theatre and De Montfort Hall’s production of Cinderella. This is wise casting with many demographics captured under this celebrity net and something for everyone—a key panto commandment. Some cast and creatives return… Continue reading Cinderella

Poignant, funny and uncomfortable are odd bedfellows but then so are our unnamed protagonists—the Dame-playing duo in the final performance of Cinderella. Having casually shagged his way through the cast (except for the ‘twiglets’ in the chorus), lad-about-the-stage (Darren Seed) has fallen into the job and is on an upward trajectory with a season in… Continue reading Oh No It Isn’t!

Ovations’ Christmas treat at Upstairs at the Gatehouse is boldly acknowledged as a jukebox musical (that is how they describe it with a jukebox on the poster). It is a vibrant celebration of the popular songs of the 1960s which borrows the title of one of them. It is a delightful nostalgia fest for those… Continue reading Summer In The City

Produced by an in-house team, the Yvonne Arnaud pantomimes are known for their family friendly fun offering traditional entertainment but with a nod to the modern. Jack and the Beanstalk continues this approach with a ‘girl boss’ Jill, home-working Fairy and a strong sustainability message. It’s not a radical reinterpretation, however, and for those looking… Continue reading Jack and the Beanstalk

Alan Parker and Paul Williams’s Bugsy Malone is one of the most iconic films in the 20th century, bringing generations of children to stage in a rich line-up of parts for junior mobsters. Sean Holmes’s Olivier Award-winning musical is updated here for this latest run at Alexandra Palace Theatre, ideally timed for the Christmas and… Continue reading Bugsy Malone The Musical

If you want to see something that is in complete contrast to almost everything else you will find in regional theatres at this time of year, this National Theatre production that begins and ends at a funeral and utilises many classic horror film tropes may well fit the bill. The story that author Neil Gaiman… Continue reading The Ocean at the End of the Lane

Little Red is a delightful, whimsical and gently humorous retelling of the Red Riding Hood fable aimed full-square at a family audience. For the first time, Eastern Angles has moved away completely from its usual Christmas spoof—part-pantomime, part-parody—and decided to concentrate on producing a show very much aimed at children and their relatives. So this… Continue reading Little Red

Stanisław Moniuszko (1819–1872) is considered the father of Polish national opera. Jawnuta, conducted by Rafał Kłoczko, gets a rare showing by Poznan Opera. The music is Slavic. The opening song asks, “where have all the gypsies gone?” It’s a question which instantly recalls Pete Seeger’s song, “Where have all the flowers gone?” Stach (Piotr Kalina),… Continue reading Jawnuta