Devon

Fee, fi, fo fum, I smell a good reason to hotfoot it to Barnstaple! Muddy&#8217;s at Queen&#8217;s Theatre to enjoy an anarchic night of booing at Dancing on Ice&#8216;s Mr Nasty! 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1365" height="2048" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_15.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51480" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_15.jpg 1365w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_15-533x800.jpg 533w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_15-667x1000.jpg 667w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_15-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_15-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_15-350x525.jpg 350w" sizes="(max-width: 1365px) 100vw, 1365px" /><figcaption>Mark Passmore/ Apex News &amp; Pictures.</figcaption></figure>



Oh yes I am! The former DOI panto villain judge, Jason Gardiner, has found himself the perfect new role as, errr, a panto villain &#8211; Evil&#8217;s O&#8217; Greedy. Evils is the leather-clad henchman of a bone-crushing giant who lives in the Upside-Up and is terrorising the good townsfolk of a mythical town called Barnstaple. Boooooooooo!



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_27.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51482" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_27.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_27-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_27-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_27-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_27-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption>Mark Passmore/ Apex News &amp; Pictures.</figcaption></figure>



The show is kicked off by the good Fairy Aubergine, the delightfully witty Lauren Hendricks, who&#8217;s a panto natural and delivers her lines in verse (&#8220;Well, you find a word that rhymes with Barnstaple!&#8221;). She has a dodgy digital wand, topped with a sparkly apple *it&#8217;s an Apple Wand* and specialises in plant-based magic skills, always useful when you&#8217;ve got a beanstalk in the title&#8230;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_02.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51483" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_02.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_02-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_02-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_02-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_02-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption>Mark Passmore/ Apex News &amp; Pictures.</figcaption></figure>



Then, it&#8217;s curtain up on our dashing hero, Jack (Shane Rice) a cheeky-chappy leading man with a cart full of cheese to sell and an even bigger roster of cheesy Christmas cracker jokes. He&#8217;s loaded his cheese-cart &#8220;Caerphilly&#8221; (I&#8217;ll spare you the rest), his alter-ego is James Bond and he has his own hashtag which we&#8217;re told to shout whenever he comes on stage. Altogether now in your loudest voice #JACKSBACK!!! 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_25.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51484" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_25.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_25-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_25-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_25-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_25-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption>Mark Passmore/ Apex News &amp; Pictures.</figcaption></figure>



His girlfriend Jill Wicks (Sydney Hocknell, far right) has a cart full of juice to sell at market, and is a very modern leading lady with a gorgeous voice and an eye on equality when it comes to matters of lurve. She&#8217;s also a no-mess fitness and Iron Man fan who could give her namesake Joe Wicks a run for his money by singing and skipping at the same time without skipping a note. Respect due.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_29.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51486" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_29.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_29-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_29-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_29-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_29-788x525.jpg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption>Mark Passmore/ Apex News &amp; Pictures.</figcaption></figure>



Jack&#8217;s mother, Dame Dolly Trott, is played by Charles Burden, clearly a panto pro with a gift for expressive asides, a great set of pipes and more florescent wigs than Barbara Cartland. What a hoot.



Both Jack and Dame Trott love their all-singing-and-dancing cow, Daisy, (she&#8217;s a great moo-ver, sorry) even though she refuses to be milked and ends up with Jack giving her an under-udder MOT. You can imagine what ensues when Dame Trott lifts her tail to check the &#8216;exhaust&#8217;.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_07-1-1000x667.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51488" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_07-1-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_07-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_07-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_07-1-788x525.jpg 788w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_07-1.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption>Mark Passmore/ Apex News &amp; Pictures.</figcaption></figure>



The lady-heavy, body-popping population of bucolic Barnstaple are a visual feast while Evil&#8217;s O&#8217; Greedy is brilliant when he goes Black Ops as a local-yokel in a crazy beard that deserves a credit of its own (above).



The first half ends with Evil&#8217;s snatching Jill and Daisy off to the Upside-Up with Fairy Aubergine, Dame Trott in hot pursuit. The show doesn&#8217;t go in for much technical wizardry but, when it does, it goes sure big: Jack in full Double-0-Devon (geddit?) mode wearing a gravity-defying jet pack and delivering a spot-on, high-note-hitting fabulous rendition of Spaceman. Top drawer.



The second half gathers pace with more song and merry mayhem, and one of the loudest audience participation for the&#8217; its behind-yous&#8217; and &#8216;oh no it isnts&#8217; I&#8217;ve ever heard, a mark of a great panto if ever there was one. And, when Evil&#8217;s O&#8217;Greedy reveals his secret alter-ego, he really rocks &#8211; and he rolls, giving us a crazily slinky kneeling version of Torvill &amp; Dean&#8217;s Bolero before going on to belt out some fabulous 50&#8217;s rock n&#8217;roll classics.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_53-1000x667.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-51490" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_53-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_53-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_53-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_53-788x525.jpg 788w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2022/12/APEX_Jack_and_the_beanstalk_Barnstaple_PANTO_53.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption>Mark Passmore/ Apex News &amp; Pictures.</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-muddy-verdict">THE MUDDY VERDICT</h2>



It all adds up to a night brimming with beans, top-notch music and dancing, oodles of contemporary references and a brilliant cast and chorus, plus a great twist! In short, this is a modern, imaginative reworking of a panto classic with festive set and costumes channeling Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Wizard of Oz vibes. 



Go for: guaranteed fairy dust for your Yule. Go, go, go!



Not for: wicked stepmothers.



The damage: Tickets from £19.50pp.



Grab your seats for <a href="https://www.queenstheatre-barnstaple.com/event/jack-and-the-beanstalk-north-devon-panto/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jack and the Beanstalk</a> at Queen&#8217;s Theatre, Barnstaple by calling 01271 316523 or <a href="https://www.queenstheatre-barnstaple.com/event/jack-and-the-beanstalk-north-devon-panto/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">book online here</a>. On until Sat 31 December 2022.

Panto review: Jack & the Beanstalk at Queen’s Theatre, Barnstaple

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