The Proper Pantomime Company Ltd is no misnomer. It delivers exactly what it says on the tin, with nary a reality TV “celebrity” in sight.
Instead, the star draw is a bona fide actress Rula Lenska, who, as the Enchantress, well... Enchants.
She is backed by a strong and enthusiastic cast in an energetic and pacey show directed by Chris Dunham.
The result is a hilarious evening with many memorable highlights.
Christopher Lillicrap, who also wrote and produced the show, is a superb Dame Daisy, oozing experience in a tour-de-force performance.
He immediately warms the audience up at the top of the show with what is essentially a 15-minute stand-up, setting the tone for the night.
Simon Bulley is a charming and engaging Silly Billy, and Simon Davies as the evil Burp makes his mark, particularly when duetting with Lillicrap in a side-splitting rendition of Baby, It’s Cold Outside.
Refreshingly, the production is not reliant on predictable High School Musical-style tunes, but incorporates numbers such as Cy Coleman’s On The Other Side Of The Tracks, from Little Me.
A reworking of Harry Nilsson’s hit, retitled I Can’t Milk, If Milking Is Without You, between Dame Daisy and the soon-to-be-sold Buttercup the cow is a delight.
Plaudits should go to the unseen Adam Flynn and Paul Leno as both Buttercup and the Giant.
The show fully deserves to be a sell-out. Even if you only have a bag of beans, go. It’s magic.
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