December draws in the Christmas spirit and with that come pantomimes! This year I saw Jack and the Beanstalk at the Capitol theatre starring Olly Pike (Jack) from CBBC’s Trapped

The pantomime had all the stock characters, with their classic but amazing personalities, not failing to add as many cheesy jokes as possible. The songs were tailored to the local town by using the phrase ‘Horsham District’ frequently.

The beanstalk was very impressive for a local pantomime and the audience was thoroughly entertained by the dancing and duets. Every once in a while the pantomime would throw in one the classic scenes, be it the chase, where the actors careen through the audience picking up bags and eating popcorn; or the wedding at the end, everyone would cheer or boo, for the good and bad guys. The costumes were fantastic and the giant was outstanding. It really did raise the bar for pantomimes across the country.

As I left the pantomime everyone was talking about how brilliant it was, you couldn’t wipe a smile off anyone’s face. A member of the audience said ‘it was amazing! I can’t believe that they managed to get a proper beanstalk and giant, the music was fabulous and the actors did a wonderful job of portraying their characters and telling the story’.

Having a pantomime that is affordable and local allowed the people of Horsham to enjoy a wonderful show just off their doorstep. Horsham’s pantomime is definitely a show to recommend and visit yourself.