There are few Christmas treats as reliably great as the annual Perth Theatre panto.
It punches above its weight as one of the very best in Scotland thanks to its secret weapon – writer, director and outrageously enthusiastic dame Barrie Hunter.
Everything and more
This take on an old story has everything we might expect from one of Hunter’s pantos, but just a bit more of it all.
Even if a visit to Perth is one of your regular seasonal traditions, the perfection of this year’s offering is still a pleasant surprise.
The Jack of this show is Kirsty Findlay’s ace mountaineer, who’s climbed every mountain in the world except Beinn Mucklemichty, the impassable peak next to her home village of Micklemuchty in Middle Perth.
Meanwhile her mum Lettie Lou’s (Hunter) petting zoo is going out of business, with only one Highland coo left.
A bag of magic beans
Yet even she has to be traded eventually, with Jack swapping the beast for a cart of vegetables and a bag of magic beans belonging with an amusingly forgetful stranger (George Docherty) on the way to market.
With no animals left, local vet Jill (Kimberly Mandindo) is out of a job and Jack’s endearingly gormless brother Jock (Ewan Somers) has no use for his studies in animal languages.
On top of it all, the unseen giant which lives up the mountain is threatening to eat them all, while Helen Logan’s cackling steampunk baddie sits atop the valley guzzling fossil fuels and planning to have the heroes’ home redeveloped.
Like Hunter and Somers, Logan is a welcome veteran of these shows.
Sharp, funny and topical
The topical jokes are sharp, the wordplay based on rhymes and alliteration is precise and the song and dance sequences – including Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, Boogie Wonderland adapted as Winter Wonderland and a socially-conscious climate change-themed medley featuring Hot Stuff and Hot in Herre – are energetically performed by the 12-strong core and community cast.
The team behind the scenes deserve a lot of praise, including choreographer Chris Stuart Wilson, musical director Alan Penman and especially designer Becky Minto, who creates detailed sets and a stunningly inventive giant.
Hilarious, exciting, cringe-free and just traditional enough, it’s hard to know how panto can be done better.
Jack and the Beanstalk is at Perth Theatre until Saturday December 31. www.perththeatreandconcerthall.com
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