Which Pantomimes Are You Seeing This Year?

Oops! I think you could be right, the heading is a bit ambiguous to be fair, I may have made a big assumption there ! I do apologise if I’ve built up your hopes, and mine ! I was thinking of going too .
I’ve messaged via Facebook to check it out .

No worries at all - if i didn't already know she'd played that role there previously i'd have thought exactly the same! She really does need to return to panto though!

Ever wonder what happened to Nigel Havers' bear costume?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-62680091

(there's a video version from Look North on iPlayer too, but it might not stay live for long www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001bg6w/look-north-east-yorkshire-and-lincolnshire-lunchtime-news-26082022)

The Liverpool Everyman's famous rock and roll panto opens this weekend. This year it's Red Riding Hood getting the Everyman treatment. Can't wait to see that a week tonight.

Also seeing the rock and roll panto at City Varieties in Leeds in December after enjoying Beauty and the Beast there last year. It's Dick Whittington this time around.

Rumpelstiltskin at Park Theatre is the third instalment of panto fun in the week before Christmas.

I am assuming no because I think panto sales are very strong this year.

They've always been brilliant but I was shocked to read last night that the new Artistic Director at the Everyman & Playhouse told the usual freelance writing team in the summer that they wouldn't be using them for this year's panto. They've written the rock and roll panto at the Everyman for the past 19 years and won two panto awards for their winter 2021 production of Robin Hood. I'm still looking forward to seeing the show on Monday but the new creative team have big shoes to fill!

TallPaul the rock and roll pantos tend to be more of a jukebox musical than traditional pantomimes with lots more songs. The other big difference is that the company are usually all actor musicians. That's certainly the case with the rock and roll pantos at the Liverpool Everyman and City Varieties in Leeds where the cast perform all the music live on stage. I love the eclectic song choices in amongst the classic rock and roll numbers. I recall at City Varieties last year, Beauty was serenaded with Sweet Child of Mine on arrival at the Beast's castle!

I think they might be less traditional in their storytelling too, although I don't think that's exclusive to the rock and roll genre. The City Varieties panto last year took plenty of liberties with the traditional Beauty and the Beast story but it was still grounded in the recognisable tale. The Everyman panto, on the other hand, has tended to diverge from the original a lot more. I think the only connection to Robin Hood in last year's Everyman panto was one of the characters happened to have that name!

My first ever trip to the Liverpool Everyman's Rock and Roll Panto last night so I had no idea what to expect but I really enjoyed it. With this year being Red Riding Hood, the main story was there with a few local references chucked in for good measure. Being sat on the front row meant that I didn't escape from being splashed several times from the cast using water pistols during the show which added to the fun.

As an actor-musician production, I thought the cast were really good performing the mix of rock and pop songs and all the jokes seemed to land with the audience. There was plenty of jokes definitely aimed at us adults as well as stuff to keep the kids entertained. As with all panto shows, there was plenty of audience participation with clapping along, dancing and usual panto call backs "He's behind You" stuff.

Overall, I'd certainly book again for future pantos. It's harmless fun and a nice way to kick off the festive season.

Anyone else been to the Oxford Playhouse Cinderella yet?

I went to this evening's press night and really don't know what to make of it...

Who knew that Dandina was the central character?

I loved the energy, the kids company in particular, the music was strong

But the script just didn't work for me. I wanted more Cinderella as she should be at the heart of the story.

The video game sequence was very strange.

Innovation is to be encouraged but it has to be better than the original otherwise it is change for the sake of it.

Saw Mother Goose at Hackney on Saturday, and I don’t
know if I am just in a Scrooge mood, but I think I'm kinda over the Hackney Panto now.

I swear, it’s almost exactly the same every year.

Already seen Mother Goose at Hackney Empire, Clive Rowe never disappoints. 

Snow White at Wimbledon this Wednesday (booked for the great cast so very disappointed it's so short!), then Sleeping Beauty at the Marlowe Canterbury on Thursday, cos Carrie HF is a favourite of mine.

Finally Palladium's Jack & the Beanstalk next week.