A dancing cow called ‘Pat’, colourful costumes, jokes old and new, and a drag queen along with a giant beanstalk can mean only one thing – pantomime is back in town!
The Bradford pantomime at The Alhambra has the reputation of being one of the best in the country – so this year’s production of Jack and The Beanstalk had a lot to live up – and it easily does.
Yorkshire comedian Billy Pearce is Mr Pantomime as far The Alhambra is concerned – this is his 23rd panto at the theatre. A visit to see him in the panto is, for many, as much a part of Christmas as tinsel and turkey. As he arrived on stage with his familiar “Hiya kids!”, he was welcomed by the younger members of the audience like a favourite Uncle – albeit a quirky one.
His years of pantomime experience shone through as he appeared as ‘Farmer Billy Trot’ – along with a plethora of pantomime animals including his cow – ‘Pat!’ His jokes were slick and fast – even at one point ad-libbing to deal with a heckler in the audience. The jokes about flatulence might wear a bit thin for older members of the audience but the youngsters sitting next to me were in hysterics.
The show is a sum of many parts with the first ten minutes more like a glitzy West End show with dancing, colourful costumes and an elaborate routine which will make you wonder whether this is a pantomime you have come to see or a big-budget musical. The storyline got lost slightly along the way with The Royal Variety Show sequence seeming to be an excuse for David Roberts to show off his acrobatic balancing skills – amazing though they were.
Familiar faces provide a festive treat
Former Emmerdale star and winner of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, Danny Miller appeared to be a big hit with the audience as ‘Jack Trot’, though I would have liked to have seen him involved more. His charm and personality shone through and the chemistry between him and Pearce seemed natural.
Divina De Campo as ‘The Spirit of the Beans’ excelled with his warm nature and surprised many with his, or should I say her excellent singing voice. Who needs a pantomime dame when you have a drag queen as flamboyant and colourful as Divina?
Jocasta Almgill as ‘Queen Josephine’ was regal and royal although it took a while for me to realise that Aisha Jawando was actually ‘Princess Jill’ as her lines seemed rather muddled at first.
Sarah Goggin as ‘Mrs Blunderbore’ brought a touch of glamour to the evening – dressed looking more like she should be on the catwalk rather than in a panto, she was a commanding figure and almost stole every scene that she appeared in.
Good old-fashioned fun
The slapstick routine towards the end which involved singing a song whilst hitting each other proved that despite all the special effects, good old-fashioned humour can just be as entertaining – a word of warning though – do not sit near the front of the stalls, unless you want to get wet!
If you need a good pick me up the Bradford panto will take you away from all the bad news around at the moment – at least for two hours. Thanking everyone for coming and spending their hard-earned cash on panto tickets, Pearce along with the rest of the cast had delivered yet another panto that does Bradford proud – oh yes it does!
Jack and the Beanstalk – The Alhambra, Bradford
Runs until Sunday 22January 2023.
