Beanstalk yields a bumper crop of talent

REVIEW: Jack and the Beanstalk – Malvern Theatres (Thursday, December 11 to Sunday, January 4).

Showtime! stars rating: * * * * *

HAVING once seen him playing the role, I reckon that director Paul Milton knows all about the power wielded by the panto villain.

Perhaps he’s rightly guessed that it’s not just about the banter and the barrage of boos the part inevitably invites from an eager, trigger-happy audience, all ready and waiting to pounce the moment the dark one appears stage right.

Oh no. Because there’s arguably more flesh on the bones of the baddie character, over and above the hisses and howls that greet his every appearance.

And that’s why this particular monster waiting in the wings – Fleshcreep, played with an insatiable appetite for deliciously and dastardly doings by Tom Lister of Emmerdale fame – does much more than just happily harvest the vocal disdain that goes with the job.

For together with the irrepressible Mark James, reprising his Silly Billy role to the utter delight of the Malvern crowd, this fabulous show is completely stolen by a panto double act that must have been made in a festive heaven.

In fact, I’ve never seen such a multi-talented villain. He grimaces and grins, jokes and jests, sings, dances… and all with a disarming expression that veers from menacing to welcoming in the blink of a dark-circled eye.

Of course, the comic who cuts the winter ice every time is Mark James, appearing in his eighth Malvern panto. For me, Mark is the tireless torch bearer for any number of classic northern comedians who have gone before, endlessly drawing from the well of tried and tested humour that instantly hits the spot with young and old alike.

Yes, fashions come, fashions go, and the years pass by… but nothing really changes with what makes us all laugh like drains.

Paul Milton clearly places great store in this double act, and his emphasis is further strengthened by the choice of Eastenders star Nick Wilton as Dame Trott, who bumbles about her son Jack (Joshua Price), a pleasant but rather dim lad who can’t tell the difference between a bag of beans and a stash of gold.

It’s a good job then that he’s got the Spirit of the Beans onside, played with surprising vim and attitude – for a good fairy, that is – by Ella Holt, who never shrinks from taking on the fearsome Fleshcreep.

And then there’s Ruth Betteridge as Jack’s friend Jill Pickle– yes, ‘friend’, there’s no suggestion of any romance blossoming here – whose cheesy grin helps Jack in his mission to thwart the Giant.

Jill certainly knows her onions – Pickle onions, you might say – and when the showdown in the castle kicks off, she never once falters.

This panto moves along at a Christmas cracker of a pace, enhanced by Cameron Macdonald’s sharp choreography and Sandra Horne’s musical direction, all of which combines to bring Tom Whalley’s script to life.

And as for the 3D effects, for which you need the appropriate glasses, these are truly amazing, with ghosts, spiders, and other creepy crawlies seemingly invading the auditorium, flying over the heads of the audience.

So it’s all this – plus the keenly delivered ensemble work, together with children from the Cecilia Hall Dance Centre - that make this a festive feast of a show, and one certainly not to be missed.