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Jack and the beanstalk at the Mayflower Theatre

Fe Fi Fo Fum! The panto returns to Southampton! And what a giant production it is!

As soon as the band started playing you could feel the energy pulsating around the theatre and the heavy bass undertones made it feel as if the giant was closeby.

This panto has everything you could wish for. It is visually stunning, full of fun, laughter and surprises and is pure wholesome entertainment.

The audience were thrilled to see the return of Kev Orkian, who plays Silly Simon, as well as Ashley Banjo and Perri Kiely and other dancers from Diversity and gave them a massive welcome.

Kev Orkian is a first class, versatile entertainer and a joy to watch. His comic timing and facial expressions are brilliant and he is incredibly quick witted and spontaneous. There are so many funny moments it is hard to pick some out but the scene with Mrs Blunderbore (Anne Smith), Ashley Banjo as Jack Trot and Perri Kiely was outstanding.

What starts out as a fairly simple tongue twister about, “poisonous pythons hissing in a pit,” develops into a complex narrative with Silly Simon crossing the stage relaying questions and answers from Jack and Mrs Blunderbore.

It brought the house down and incredibly there was only one slip up from Perri. 

There were peals of laughter when Silly Simon also wants to join Diversity and says he has been practising all year. Donning a bright green leotard and shocking pink tights he launches into various hilarious dancesto well known songs.

One of the funniest was watching Orkian dance to, ”The Birdy Song,” and then Ashley Banjo and Perri making it look like the coolest song ever to dance to giving it the full Diversity treatment complete with spins and somersaults!

Matt Rixon was loveable and saucy as Dame Trot, mother to Jack and Silly Simon. Looking colourful in huge dresses, flamboyant wigs and over the top makeup he wastes no time in making Aaron in the front row the object of his affections. For me Matt Rixon was more of a traditional dame and I really loved this flashback to my youth.

There was a real rapport with the audience and the scene with Silly Simon where she is asking him questions and Simon’s replies are song lyrics, including, “Who Let the Dogs Out,” Let It Go,” and, “Never Enough” were very funny.

Anne Smith looked beautiful as Mrs Blunderbore and was a wonderful villain. She has a rich voice with beautiful diction and showed how incredibly talented she is during the sketch about the poisonous pythons. It really was a tour de force!

Lauren Hampton was radiant as Princess Jill and Jacqueline Hughes was perfect as The Spirit of the Beans and are both blessed with wonderful singing voices.

I must mention the talented ensemble who added so much radiance to the stage. I wasn’t too sure about the cow printed shorts and tied shirts worn by the male dancers but all of the dancers looked as if they were having a ball on the stage!

Cow Pat was totally adorable and a highlight was when one of her shoes came off and was put back lovingly by Silly Simon!

Ashley Banjo, Perri and the dancers from Diversity were outstanding as always. Last year I really wanted to see more dancing from them and this year there certainly is. They are quite simply jaw droppingly brilliant to watch.

The technical team did a brilliant job at creating stunning lighting effects and sprinkling some surprises throughout the show - most memorable were the beanstalk and the huge animatronic to represent the giant which lurched towards the audience.

I can only think that the Mayflower Theatre must have used magic beans to create this spectacular show. Catch it while you can!

Buy your tickets here https://www.mayflower.org.uk/whats-on/jack-and-the-beanstalk-2024/