REVIEW: Jack and the Beanstalk, Winton Players, Petersfield Festival Hall, January 11

My word, PeCAN really do have a lot of clout in Petersfield, don’t they?

It looks like they’ve targeted the Winton Players to share their green credentials, with the Fairy becoming an Eco-Fairy in this highly enjoyable panto.

I’m joking, of course, as the delightful Paula Currie didn’t encourage the bean-growing Jack to use organic compost in “Petersfield’s Proper Panto”.

But there was plenty of magic with their production of Jack in the Beanstalk reaching dizzying heights with its characterisation, audience involvement and pleasing blend of tradition and panto firsts.

The latter included a brilliant tap-dancing cow with Daisy (sisters Jess and Chloe Bryant) wowing with their moves to C&C Music Factory’s ‘Gonna Make You Sweat’. Bonus points for not using Daisy Bell, too, and for turning the Bay City Roller classic into Bye, Bye Daisy with modern songs being largely preferred over classics throughout.

Other nice touches included Dame Trot (Joff Lacey) channelling his inner Freddie Mercury and namechecking the band early on, and the very clever rise of the beanstalk at the end of the first act.

The story of Jack needs no introduction but essentially the giant has ordered the villagers to pay up or he’ll marry Princess Demelza (Karla Welch). The giant’s orders are relayed by the Arthur Daley-esque Slimeball (wonderfully evil Winton Players legend Phill Humphries) who I expected to sing I Could Be So Good For You at any moment.

Jack (George Pinhorn) was every bit the leading man and his reaction on being tricked by Smileball was spot-on. Welch exuded the authority that comes with her regal role while she sang beautifully behind bars in a solo, hitting the right notes while being imprisoned in the giant’s castle.

King Bertram (John Whitaker) and his bumbling sidekick Trumpet (Nikolai Gibbins) were also a great double act, setting their stall early on in a banging scene.

The latter was terrific comic foil throughout, with his less than impressive attempt at eavesdropping being a delight. Great socks, too.

I loved the Goblins, who despite being elite didn’t manage to stop Jack from rescuing the princess, while Scarlett McLeod nearly stole the show with her adorable stint as the golden-goose laying Hettie the Hen.

That leaves Simple Simon (Ben Wade), who thrived on the audience’s command to “be brave” and seemed to have a genuine connection with Daisy The Cow.

The set was fairly simple, with two giant blocks being rotated to change the scene, while the rise of the beanstalk was inventive, yet fairly simple and effective.

If I do have a gripe, it’s minimal, as I thought Trumpet should have had more of a comeuppance for deserting the rescue party after the traditional “behind you” scene. Yep, of course that’s in there.

But that’s a minor gripe and to paraphrase another part of this excellent panto, everything that was part of this show was So good, So Good. Do see.

Review by Paul Ferguson.