REVIEW: Jack and the Beanstalk at the Hexagon, Reading

There is no substitute in Pantomime for a great script and a cast who work as an Ensemble to deliver a good show. Reading Hexagon is lucky to have Justin Fletcher and Paul Morse in their ninth season together with Ryan Alexander Full and Rachel Delooze returning for a second successive year at the venue. Following their success together in Beauty and the Beast last year Justin Fletcher again writes the script for the show and together with director Steve Boden, cleverly refreshes many of the traditional pantomime business to create a practically perfect pantomime for the young Berkshire audiences. The result is a show with a well-judged two-hour running time that engages the audience and keeps the young children from babes in arms upwards entertained throughout that time, demonstrating that Fletcher knows how to connect with his young audiences.

Justin Fletcher as Gil, the brother of Jack, has a commanding effortless stage presence and after an amusing entrance in a Dodgem car (for no obvious reason except he had one in stock) as usual reminds his fans of his alter egos from TV and touring shows and then settles into his routines. Most are delivered with his “partner in crime” the brilliant Paul Morse as Dame Trot (this year) who has an equally strong stage presence with a booming voice, fluttering eyelids and a knowing cheeky grin. They give us a slosh scene routine with plenty of thick gooey white slosh and a magnificent large syringe (a demonstration of the art that many other performers should watch), a refreshed tongue twister “Susie sits in a shoeshine shop” about sold-out sausages (showing the slightest updates give a routine a freshness), the “Chapel Bells” routine (with a twist in the end), a perfectly executed milking scene (with an amusing stage hand gag) and a traditional ghost bench scene with creepy crawlies. Each slightly tweaked the tradition satisfying both first-time audience members and regulars equally. It is shame they did not tweak the “12 days of Christmas” and “a bra that was made to hold three” routine which still works but needs a refresh relevant to the pantomime title. They even cleverly referenced the success of their wonderful “Balloon Ballet” in the last two years which had the audience begging for a reprise to be met with their refusal to good comic effect. It is wonderful to see these two masters of the comic pantomime business delivering these routines.

REVIEW: Beauty and the Beast at the Hexagon, Reading

Justin Fletcher knows his audience and has written a perfectly pitched version of Beauty and the Beast as a pantomime for this Christmas at the Hexagon in Reading and stars as Billy Pastry with his comedy soul mate Paul Morse who returns as Dame Nanny Pastry for an eighth year. They have a lovely relationship on stage, a well-crafted partnership that delivers all the classic pantomime routines with great skill, timing, and physical reactions. The result is some of the loudest and most consistent audience reactions that you will hear this season.

Their production includes many of the classic routines that are part of Pantomime history such as a delivery to the houses of Mr Who, Mr What and Mr Idon’tknow, the classic baking scene with plenty of slosh, a fresh feeling lip-sync routine, a standard “If I was not upon the stage”, and the usual Ghost bench scene, this time with a wolf. Each is delivered with discipline, care, and good comic timing to maximize the audience reaction. However, it was the return, “by popular demand”, of the Balletic balloon dance by Dame Busty Darcell and Rudolph Nurafen that once again gets the most laughs. The simplicity of the few words spoken in it, the perfection of the ballet steps and the business with the balloons is so clever it stands repeat viewing and is the show highlight. All the routines are carefully integrated so they flow from the narrative development naturally.

REVIEW: Cinderella at the Hexagon, Reading

Cinderella is the best pantomime title with a delightfully familiar story of good overcoming evil in family conflict and while the writers of the Lyric Hammersmith and Southampton NST felt the need to play with the story, Justin Fletcher sticks to a straight traditional retelling of the tale in his tenth appearance at Hexagon Pantomime. The result is a gently paced Christmas treat for the young families of Reading.

Fletcher, better known to his young audience as Mr Tumbles as well as writing the script stars as Buttons and benefits from director Stephen Boden, the man behind the producers Imagine, and Adrian Edmeades as choreographer ensuring a balanced mix of song, dance and Panto business in a disciplined controlled production with an even pace and good use of all the cast members. Fletcher responds by doing what he does best charmingly and un-aggressively engages the audience in an effortless way.

REVIEW: Henry II at the Reading Minster of St Mary the Virgin, Reading

Henry II is the third of Beth Flintoff's Conquerors trilogy for Reading Between the Lines (RBL) set about the time of the building and consecration of Reading Abbey (1120 to 1164). I missed the first two instalments, Henry I of England and Matilda the Empress, so was unfamiliar with the style and story to date. She has taken real historical figures and even some snatches of dialogue from contemporary accounts and fashioned a period set play in period costumes but with a modern feeling script and including some lively folk music by Luke Potter. It is at times a curious mix and some of the writing, especially in the overlong first act, feels like it needs another draft or two to refine and sharpen the dialogue. Staged in the Reading Minister the pews did begin to feel uncomfortable even with the cushion hired before the interval. However the whole production takes off in the second half as the various story strands are drawn together and the Director Hal Chambers makes better use of the space. 

The historical storylines are based around the deteriorating relationship between Henry and his powerful wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, the sudden change in his relationship with Thomas Beckett after he becomes Archbishop of Canterbury and the development of troubadour's, musical poets who sang about consensual love. We are shown the contrasts in Beckett behaviour in Act 1 with a slightly bizarre song and dance about his days as a drunk with Henry and in opening of Act 2 as the pious serious Archbishop in a self flagellation scene. With the troubadours we see in Act 1 a rather dull explanation of the principles of Troubadour poetry but in Act 2 we get a powerful well grouped scene at King's banquet where they fall under the troubadours spell in a test of Henry and Eleanor's relationship when he sings" here lies my heart my love ".