Jack and the Beanstalk – The Reviews Are In!

Only a week since Heckington Players’ last performance of their panto, Jack and the Beanstalk, so the post-show blues are very much upon us. Here are two NODA reviews, one from Jules Jones, our NODA East Midlands Councillor, the other from Stuart Bull, our NODA East Midlands Regional Rep:

Jack and the Beanstalk 1 – NODA

Jack and The Beanstalk 2 – NODA

I am really pleased at how well my script went down with everyone, audiences and actors alike. I spent a lot of time adapting my original script from 2012 and, as a result, feel this version is fresher, faster and funnier.

Here is my copy for this year’s programme . . .

A Few Words from the Writer . . .

Jack and the Beanstalk is my favourite pantomime . . . I think. To be fair, my opinion on this changes quite regularly, but I do keep coming back to this one when asked the question. The narrative has a perfect structure for panto, a fairy tale that has a neat two halves which conveniently fit either side of an interval. The first part is Jack’s life at home in the ‘real world’ and the latter section follow his escapades in the Giant’s castle.

This is my second version of the story as a pantomime for Heckington Players. I wrote Jack #1 way back in the summer of 2012, ready to be performed in January 2013. It was my fifth panto script for the society and one that I still fondly remember as it was the first time I performed on stage in one of my own pantomime scripts! I played Bernie Bragmore, the director at Sunshine TV News where Jack and Dame Trott work, a role which has survived into my new version, this time wonderfully played by Godfrey Barlow.

In Summer 2020, it felt so odd not writing a pantomime for Heckington and I’m sure you’ll agree January 2021 just wasn’t the same without a trip to the magical world of Pantoland. But we’re back, perhaps bigger and better than ever, and I hope my script does the occasion justice. I certainly enjoyed immersing myself in silly gags, colourful characters and thrilling adventures once again – I hadn’t quite realised how much I’d missed it.

Welcome back everyone, enjoy the show.