Which Pantomimes Are You Seeing This Year?

I wonder if the audience for Dick Whittington at Richmond managed to get a refund or a credit note for that cancelled performance? I think perhaps tickets to next year's panto free of charge would be an option as well.

TBH that's true for most pantos these days. Wimbledon's Cinderella is built around CRH which seemed to have worked compared to last year which had an assortment of names.

Last year they had far too many names yes! The story was weak and each character seemed to only get a brief look-in before they rotated to the next. Matthew Kelly must have been the least-on-stage dame in the country.

I think panto works best when you just have one or two "names" and then some experienced pros who have done it for years playing the dame and comic etc.

You’re probably right @original9. The last time Gladiators was on tv, many of them turned up in pantomime. I’ve read that many of the experienced panto performers were less than impressed with having to carry them through the shows.

Just seen the Greenwich panto. I was nervous as it is the first I’ve seen since Anthony Spargo took over from Andrew Pollard as writer (and Dame in this production). But he acquited himself well in both roles. It’s messier in style and structure than Andrew’s and parts didn’t quite work but overall it’s a terrific traditional panto.

Also praise for the front of house staff. For the first time ever in my life we arrived a day late. But our blushes were spared as with no fuss they found us some other seats (the reserved comp ones) and left us to it with no recrimination.

I really like the theatre. The bar is fine, the vintage posters up the stairs to the auditorium are fascinating and the rake of the seating works very well - no heads in the way but not vertigo inducing.

I think most pantos have emergency covers from within the dancing ensemble, especially since COVID. But obviously covering the Dame - particularly if he's the "name" is a big responsibility for a young dancer, and you can understand him being terrified. I don't imagine he got much in the way of rehearsal either, if any!
Presumably the stand-in the following day has had experience of Dame-ing even if he wasn't familiar with this particular show, hence going on with the script.

Saw 'Peter Pan' at the Bristol Hippodrome tonight, and it was excellent! Really funny!

It was the final show of the run so I shall post spoilers.

Starring David Suchet as Hook, local comedian and panto favourite Andy Ford as Smee, Faye Tozer as the Magical Mermaid and Ceri Dupree as Mrs Smee.

This was David Suchet's first panto, and he was a natural! At 77 he was put through his paces as well, no holding back including a comedy fall.

He was a great Hook, but after his demise at the end of act I, he appeared in act II. It was then revealed he was Hook's nice twin brother, called Hercule. You can guess what happened, and although it went over the childrens' heads, the adults were loving it! He went in full Poirot-costume and character, explaining what happened.

Faye Tozer got to make plenty of Steps-references, and sang a medley at the end. She has a great voice!

At the end Andy Ford did a little speech how it was Sir David's very first panto, and how he had thrown himself into it, earning everyone's admiration. His kind words made Sir David quite emotional.

The show ran over by 20 minutes, so I had to leg it for one of the last buses home, but it was a great show!

Went to Cinderella at the New Wimbledon Theatre, first panto in years and honestly it was a lot of fun. Craig Revel Horwood stole the show as Demonica Hardup, As much as I liked Cassie Compton as Cinderella, she is overshadowed by CRH, Pete Firman and Alison Jiear.

The effects are good especially the one at the end of Act 1. I am certainly going to go to more pantos this year for sure.

Well only one panto this year, my local in Plymouth, Goldielocks and the Three Bears and with this panto it is with sadness that I realise my town is now a D-List panto town. It was a good run, I've seen classic stars of TV and screen in my lifetime grace the Plymouth Panto stage, but this year we might as well not bothered and given it to an independent.

This year Plymouth was literally the last Crossroads panto to get a cast announcement, and I mean last, September. I knew the structure of this year's panto, so was happy to accept it would be little plot and more specialty/variety acts filling up most of the runtime... we got one juggler, in Act Two, who dropped his balls and sticks more then a couple of times during his 7 minute act. The end of Act One saw the tightrope walk cancelled for a 30 second unicycle bit and even on the nights they did do the tightrope, the guy never made it across from other poeple I spoke to. Add to the fact multiple mic faults, which lead to a few of the cast having to pass one hand held microphone between them at one point.

So that brings us to our headline star, Dame Kelly Holmes, her frist panto and boy it showed. From the look of terror in her already botox to hell face, to mumbling her lines and being about as graceful dancing as I am an athlete, it was a sad thing to watch at times.

Alexandra Mardell was as a bland soap star in a panto you could get as the title character. Really out off all the cast it was only Brendan Cole giving it some effort, but that only highlighted how lacking the rest of the cast was.

Almost £60 a ticket as well, this is the worst sate I have ever seen a panto.

Berwick Kaler and his gang have officially retired as Dame after forty seven years in York: yorkmix.com/panto-shock-as-berwick-kaler-goes-after-47-years-brand-new-york-show-announced/?fbclid=IwAR0I44aWJfeA1JgEtVwOict3Hq2eN4BI6H9hJ26Ttzk5toFfC_ocBq6QjRo#google_vignette

The new show is Beauty and the Beast.

I have 6 booked so far:

Cinderella - adults only (at King’s Head Theatre)
Sleeping with Beauty (Union Theatre)
Jack and the Beanstalk (Charing Cross Theatre)
The Liar, the Bitch and the Wardrobe (Turbine Theatre)
Homo Alone (The Other Palace)
Dick Whittington (Greenwich Theatre)