With most modern pantos becoming over-reliant on smutty jokes and shoehorned pop culture references to keep the grown-ups onside, it comes as a welcome relief to find a seasonal show that sets its sights so unashamedly on entertaining the little ones. For while there is plenty in this production to keep the adults from nodding off into their pick ‘n’ mix, in writer/director/producer Duggie Chapman’s hands, the onus is very much on good old-fashioned family entertainment.
Epitomising this is Stu Francis, whose decades of experience of entertaining kids comes shining through in his winning turn as Muddles, while David Rumelle as Tilly Tart shows that true dames are more than just drag acts by keeping his banter on the right of naughty. They are ably supported by elder Chuckle Brothers Jimmy and Brian Patton as the not-so-evil henchmen, while Rebecca Lake and Nick Huntington make a sweet couple as Goldilocks and her prince, even if, in this incarnation, their blossoming romance isn’t afforded quite enough stage time. The bears themselves - and that famous porridge-related incident - take a bit too long in coming, but once they do, they combine with the Big Top-centred antics in the second half to hold the attention of the most fidgety junior audience member.
Production information can change over the run of the show.
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