‘Fee Fie Foe Fum, panto is back in Wimbledon!’ Hearing these seasonal words of bonhomie, one feels immediately assured of great festive entertainment, and so it proves.
OUR VERDICT
Everything about the New Wimbledon’s panto oozes fun and sumptuous good cheer, all delivered with wonderful energy and commitment that’s a credit to the genre.
The story’s wafer-thin, of course, as Jack and Jill travel up the beanstalk to confront the wicked giant, but actually, it doesn’t matter one bit on this occasion. The audience is treated to a panto-perfect cast who knows exactly what’s required and provides it with consummate relish.
As Mrs Blunderbore, the wicked wife of the giant, who admits her preference for ‘bad boys,’ Alexandra Burke is absolutely great, a stylish villainess clearly savouring her chance to strut and snarl and then beguile with a song or two.
Complementing her as the manifestation of Christmas kindness, Ria Jones is a delight as the Spirit of the Beans and engaging comedian Joe Pasquale has the children in the palm of his hand with his brand of toilet humour.
Panto wouldn’t be panto without a memorable Dame, of course, and happily drag performer Ceri Dupree is wonderful in the shape of Dame Trot, witty and arch, enjoying great repartee with Pasquale, her series of ever more outlandish costumes enough to bamboozle the senses.
What is surprising is how good Benjamin Yates is as the eponymous hero Jack, too, throwing himself wholeheartedly into the song and dance numbers with real gusto and vocal enthusiasm, in all honesty delivering much more than the panto hero usually offers.
The first act is good, the second even better as the giant appears in all his glory here and for young children, it would be genuinely scary as his enormous mutinous face projects well into the auditorium.
Wimbledon’s panto this year is a class act in all respects, truly bestowing a slice of festive magic for absolutely everyone.
