It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas which means it’s panto season once more…oh yes it is! After a year where most pantomimes were cancelled or had an unexpected, limited run it feels extra special for the magic of this beloved festive tradition to return. This Festive season The Hackney Empire, famed for their pantomimes over the years, brings the classic fairytale of “Jack and the Beanstalk” to life.
I felt a warm welcome to my first experience of this iconic venue from arrival, especially warm as the interior was trimmed with wreaths and beautiful trees. The Panto programme is full of colourful pictures, games and puzzles for children (and most likely the adults too) to enjoy playing along with. I attended a 1.30 matinee which meant that the majority of the audience was very excited school children. The anticipation for the show was heightened with cast members dressed as newspaper sellers appearing on different levels of the theatre followed by a much-enjoyed countdown!
All is not well in Pantoland as an evil Giant threatens from up in the sky with the famous words, “Fe, Fie, Foe” being heard at various moments throughout. Zoe Curlett brings menace as the Giant’s aide, Funella Fleshcreep, the children lapped up being able to boo and hiss as she causes mayhem to the characters. In the second half meeting, The Giant is very impressive as a huge puppet comes bounding onto the stage both scaring and delighting the children all at once.
As is traditional the panto had a nice mix of classic songs with some contemporary, this gives the show a current feel. The children in the crowd were particularly pleased to hear BTS’s “Butter”, the majority of the audience was singing along. My personal favourite moment was the whole cast singing a recent Eurovision favourite, “Think About Things” by Icelandic band Daoi Freyr including the songs dance moves made famous on Tik Tok. The character of Councillor Higginbottom, played by Tony Whittle is dressed throughout as Freddie Mercury and weaves Queen lyrics into various parts of the script. The joy of a Pantomime is exactly the escapism that audiences will long for after a news heavy 18 months. I would recommend heading to The Hackney Empire to smile along with two hours of fairytale fun, glitter, and magic. The show runs until the 2nd of January…oh yes it does!!!
Review by Myles Ryan
Rating: ★★★★