Jack and the Beanstalk at the Theatre Royal Windsor Review
Jack and the Beanstalk
Theatre Royal, Windsor
1 December to 8 January 2017
Reviewed by Nealy Collins
I took my two boys aged 6 and nearly 8 to see Jack and the Beanstalk at the Theatre Royal in Windsor, staring Anthea Turner, Jason Gardiner and Timmy Mallet and what a night we had!
We received a warm welcome at the quaint theatre in Windsor, a pianist played in the foyer which creates a lovely ambience, a great relaxing start to the evening.
We had seats in the front stalls which gave a great view of the stage, we purchased boosters for the children to sit on at £1 each and these worked brilliantly for them.
The story of Jack and the Beanstalk was re-told simply but with so much fun along the way! My boys understood and followed the story and remained engaged throughout the show – shouting out, cheering, clapping and singing along.
The energy was consistent throughout and there was a real mix of fun, drama and audience interaction.
It’s great to see how pantomimes have moved with the times. We were impressed with the modern songs and references to iPhones and Pokemon Go!
There was also a good balance of humour that was easy for the children to understand, together with adult jokes that went straight over their heads!
The sets were fantastic, dance routines amazing and there were lots of colourful costumes too!
Audience participation extended from the traditional ‘it’s behind you’ to dance routines with the whole audience on their feet!
Jack and the Beanstalk had all the traditional pantomime characters that you would expect, the love pair (Jack and Jill), the Dame (played by Steven Blakeley) and the Fairy (played by Anthea Turner), they were all played brilliantly but Jason Gardiner stood out as the wonderfully wicked Giants Henchman – he couldn’t have put any more in to his performance in my opinion!
Princess Jill also stood out with some of her solo singing performances, she really does have an impressive voice!
Simple Simon played by Kevin Cruise also provided a huge amount of entertainment and laughter. One of my favourite scenes of the show was when he had the whole audience up dancing with him, doing his exercise routine!
In summary, Jack and the Beanstalk was thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish, I couldn’t ask for more from a modern-day pantomime. It was feel good, family entertainment as it’s best! I would highly recommend it for families of all ages this Christmas!
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £17 to £42 (booking fees may apply).
Jack and the Beanstalk is at the Theatre Royal in Windsor until 8 January 2017. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 01753 853888.
Theatre Royal Windsor, Thames Street, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 1PS | 01753 853888
