It may not feature a Z-list celeb you’ve never heard of, and half the backdrops may be painted on curtains, but I’d be stunned if you’re bothered about that by the time Greenwich panto’s gutsy ensemble wrap up the first act with their clever take on ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. Jack tries to leave home to confront Giant Bonecrunch but his mother will not let him go. Let him go!
It’s the highlight of an infectiously giddy show that never takes itself too seriously. The competent 11-person cast look like they’re having a hoot throughout and there’s a synth player in the orchestra pit who seems constantly poised to bust out another Michael Jackson cover. The whole thing is enormously fun. But it’s the dame, played for the ninth year in a row by Andrew Pollard, who carries the show, subjecting the audience to a relentless catalogue of terrible puns while cavorting across the stage in a range of outrageous frocks.
The Giant is also spectacular: a gruesome triumph of economical set design that immediately reduced one young member of our audience to a blubbering wreck. It was the most universally appealing part of a show that otherwise tended to veer away from the pantomime’s traditional storyline in favour of a sickly romance between Jack and Jill. Next to some of London’s other pantos it feels tailored towards kids rather than the whole family.
Nevertheless, this is a show that has bags of charm to go with its bags of magical beans, and even if the YMCA sing-off at the end of the show isn’t for you, it’s unlikely you’ll leave Greenwich Theatre with anything but a big grin on your face.
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