Jack and the Beanstalk Hall for Cornwall

Review by Beverley Coumbe

IT WASN'T the best timing in the world and I knew it was asking a lot of any show – to overcome a bad case of child-flu and parental exhaustion – but I'm happy to say this year's Hall for Cornwall panto came up trumps with Jack and the Beanstalk.

Produced by Ian Liston, of Hiss and Boo, and directed by HfC's Tim Brinkman, the show stayed true to the traditional elements of our treasured panto – plenty of slapstick humour delivered with ease by Dame Mary Trott (Richard Alan) and 'Simple' Simon Trott (Mark James), who in my opinion stole the show.

Dame Trott's wigs are worth their own mention; as the plot thickened they too became more outlandish, and the frocks – well I won't spoil the finale but it brought a smile to my eight-year-old daughter's face.

The clever use of music and choreography, seen in its hilarious re-working of the Twelfth Night of Christmas (look out for the giant bra and pots and pans) and the 'milking' of Daisy the cow, and Simple Simon's 007 antics, gave the show a lively pace that kept my two youngsters enthralled throughout what is a lengthy performance.

The colourful and vibrant set, designed by Alexander McPherson, provided an excellent backdrop to the magical tale, with plenty of scene changes to keep up the suspense.

The decision to keep the giant under wraps, using a booming thundering voice instead, gave the tale a menacing edge that kept the little ones fixated. We did wonder why it took so long for the giant to be revealed, but when he did finally make an appearance he did not disappoint with his gigantic figure, that was only let down by his rather cumbersome movements.

The giant's evil henchman, Crabapple, was a hit with both Lauren, eight, and Matthew, six, who were spellbound by his black persona which reminded me of the child catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

The children's performances were also a credit to this professional production that had all the fun and festive elements you would expect of a traditional panto – we would give it a dazzling 10 out of 10 and recommend it to anyone, especially those wanting to escape the winter blues. Well done Hall for Cornwall, a great show.

The panto continues until January 3 – contact the box office on 01872 262466 or head to www.hallforcornwall.co.uk for ticket details.