Jack And The Beanstalk At The Oxford Playhouse Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Joanna Woodburn
Is it really that time of the year already? Oh, yes it is! The pantomime season has well and truly kicked off with panache and style at the Oxford Playhouse with this year’s brilliant pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk. At The Playhouse, Oxford I can guarantee audiences are in for a real treat!
We always find the Oxford Playhouse to be the perfect venue for family entertainment across the generations. The theatre is truly renowned for its warm and friendly welcome and perfectly balances tradition and charm with relaxed and personal touches. As a family, we all love the comfortable, trendy, multi coloured seats and the multi-tiered seating which means even little ones are guaranteed a good view from anywhere in the auditorium, although there are also plenty of booster seats for extra height!
The pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk has something for everyone, taking the audience on a feel good journey of escapism and delight, with lots of slapstick humour, charming moments and innuendos (which fly over the top of little one’s heads!) where the good guys always prevail over the evil villains.
As fairy-tales go, Jack and the Beanstalk is ultimately a wholesome, morality tale, despite the many clever twists in the plot. What makes the show so special and magical are the people and the relationships formed during this little pocket of time when we can all escape reality! All the cast work tremendously hard and really give it their all, connecting with the audience in such a fluid, kind and responsive way, with high fives, shout outs and never taking anything too seriously – seriously brilliant!
With too many highlights to mention, a special shout out to Robin Hemmings, having great fun as the sneering, guitar playing Hendrix The Horrible, strutting the stage and winding up the audience in top form! Following on from his fantastic performance in last year’s pantomime, Cinderella, it was great to see Alasdair Buchan again, playing Dame Mary with all the ‘dairy related’ corny jokes and puns you can shake a milk bottle at (you will be craving an ice cream by the interval!) and with enough slapstick humour to bring the house down! Max Guest was also real winner with the audience, playing the role of the well meaning and endearing Jack Dairy, with super vocals and comic timing.
Huge congratulations also to the inspiringly talented members of the Jack and the Beanstalk Young Company – they were all fabulous!
The witty twists on the words in well known, nostalgic tunes and energetic dance numbers, with fun audience participation thrown in means the show is packed full with so much to enjoy!
Full of fun, magic and laughter, Jack and the Beanstalk will delight and charm across the generations and is a must-see!
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost from £10
Jack and the Beanstalk is at the Oxford Playhouse in Oxford from Friday 1st December to Sunday 7 January 2024, for more information or to book tickets visit https://www.oxfordplayhouse.com/events/jack-the-beanstalk
or call the box office on 01865 305305
The Oxford Playhouse, 11-12 Beaumont Street, Oxford, OX1 2LW