Which Pantomimes Are You Seeing This Year?

I remember when pantos used to run until at least the middle to the end of January. I'm surprised most aren't running longer given how much cash they bring in.

Saw the Mayflower panto yesterday (Goldilocks and the Three Bears)

What I liked:
- Sooty and Sweep. Every time they were on stage I just wanted more of them. Best bit was an extended bit where Sweep is upset and projectile-cries over the audience with jets of water from his eyes, it was genuinely hysterical.
- The 12 days of Christmas sequence in act 2. So obvious that the cast loved doing it, it really elevated the show.
- Adam Strong as the dame. Great audience work, some great looks and held the chaos together.
- Jason Donovan was a great sport and enjoyed being a villains (lots of jokes about Neighbours and Joseph).
- The visuals. The set, lighting, costumes, and the animal animatronics were stunning (especially the elephant)
- The variety acts (roller-skating acrobats especially)
- the dance sequences (especially Be A Clown and 42nd Street numbers)
- The obligatory bringing kids up on stage to say cute things, the kids were very good (no idea if it was an audience plant, but kids can just be organically funny sometimes)

What I didn’t like:
- The plot was paper thin, even for a panto. If it had been more openly a variety show with a thin plot line then it would have worked more, but the three bears plot held it back.

- The three bears. No insult to the performers but the bears as characters were pointless, slightly horrifying to look at, and weren’t really needed.

- Some of the jokes and magic sequences didn’t land. Also an incredibly iffy joke in a sequence of playing snippets of songs connected to lines of dialogue and they played a 2 second snippet of ‘two little boys’ by a certain disgraced TV presenter before reacting like ‘NO DONT PLAY THAT!’ (It was a bit of a poor taste reference imo)

Overall I’d give it 3/5 stars, but it was still a fun excuse to go to the theatre

I think shorter panto runs also help get big names in, easier to get people to commit to intense 3 to 4 week runs over December. Plus since Sunday shows have become the norm they can make money in less time. Better to have the December dates sell out than go jnto January with less full audiences

A lot will depend on how many school groups there are in the area. Outside of the school holidays most pantos play 2 daytime shows a day for the schools market. There will also be shows at the weekends (sometimes 3 a day) and during the school Christmas holidays which will generally be afternoon and early evening and bring in families.
Therefore to play an extra week you would want about 8 shows (2 a day plus a rest day) of extra schools groups.

There is no reason for Aladdin pantos to be seen less, producers just need to cast appropriately and not include ridiculous racist lyrics.

I'm surprised they didn't just set it in a non descript location.

I was wondering how many people would be caught out with SWR's current lack of late evening trains (last one is like 20:30!) Before Covid I wouldn't have expected a refund or anything when isn't the theatre's fault, things softened to encourage people back but sounds like they have got mean again.

Is that awful customer service? Mayflower isn’t responsible for the train strikes. You bought the ticket, presumably didn’t get the added extra insurance you can get, if there is no other way for you to get there then it’s just hard luck. Theatres can’t keep on offering refunds or credit vouchers for people who can’t get to the theatre. They need bums on seats and if people can’t get there then why should the theatre return the money or give a credit. Just my opinion.

Off to Snow White at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh tonight. not seen a panto in a very long time so i'm excited!

I've been to Cinderella at the Stockport Plaza and really enjoyed it. Some new effects, and a very good Buttons. No children up on the stage though, I don't know if that's a hangover from covid still?

Two songs from Wonderland as well! I was quite surprised, it's not a musical I expect to hear popping up much.

I don't think Aladdin is ever done like the original story in panto form in terms of setting and casting. Even places like the Lyric Hammersmith and Hackney Empire which are very diverse in terms of their casting have never used any Chinese performers when they did Aladdin.

If Crossroads were to do Aladdin at the Palladium next year and cast say Louis Gaunt as Aladdin and Gary Wilmot as the Emperor or Widow Twankey, nobody would really bat an eyelid.