Review: Jack and the Beanstalk – Beacon Arts Centre

There’s so, so much to love about Jack and the Beanstalk, Beacon Arts Centre 2024 panto offering. Entirely produced in-house, and not a locally co-opted creation of some remote corporate giant, writer Alan McHugh, and director Beth Morton’s take on the auld English fairytale has plenty of flare.

The creative pair take a few liberties with the story to make it panto-worthy but all the requisite parts are in place. There’s Jack (Shannon Swan), Jack’s mum, Dame Trott (Jimmy Chisholm), a cow called Moo-Moo, magic beans, and a beanstalk with a giant’s keep at the top.

Recognising the difficulty in writing villainous stand-up for a performer in a giant’s costume, they conjure up Voldemorra, a wicked sorceress with the giant for a patsy – played with sassy Scottish vim by the returning Jane McCarry. As with the rest of the cast, however, she’s always at risk of being upstaged by sidekick Snotbag, played with a delicious mix of deadpan and outright daftness by Mark Cox.

“…writer Alan McHugh, and director Beth Morton’s take on the auld English fairytale has plenty of flare.”

That’s a measure of Cox’s odd charisma, rather than a lack of charm or impact on the part of any of his colleagues. Chisolm makes a uniquely excellent dame, what with his heavy boots and cheery cynicism. Whether milking Moo-Moo by pumping her tail, or doing a U-rated striptease, his gruff good-humour never fails. Playing his eldest son Wacky Willy, Lee Samuel fills the niche of likeable panto-dafty with huge enthusiasm, whilst a silver-voiced Sam Willison supplies Jack with a wholesome best friend and partner in adventure.

Further, if some modern pantos are prone to side-lining the central story, Swan is given ample opportunity to create a lively, winning, and flawed hero complete with that rarest of things in pato: a character arc. She also makes a fairytale/Greenock-themed reworking of Journey’s iconic ‘Don’t Stop’ look easy.

Hugh and Morton make full use of these assembled talents, providing them with a genuinely funny script, and plenty of opportunities to show their worth whether joking, singing, laughing, rapping, selling cows, or planting over-eager beans. The quality scenic art from Tyler Ness makes a fine backdrop for every moment. Bathed in Simon Hayes’ gorgeous lighting, be it the cheery village of Inverstrone or the giant, dark gate to the giant’s castle, it’s the stuff of nostalgic heaven.

Two things held the show back from unambiguous panto-perfection when I sat in to review (before the official press night).

Dramatically speaking, things get a bit needlessly messy at times, particularly during the final confrontation with the giant – impressively created by Eva Barrett Mansfield & Jenny Fleming and voiced by the one and only Martin Compston. A less physical finale might allow a little more time for the dramatic reveal of the power behind the terror on a cloud. The plot remains particularly smart as panto creations go nevertheless.

“Hugh and Morton make full use of these assembled talents, providing them with a genuinely funny script, and plenty of opportunities to show their worth whether joking, singing, laughing, rapping, selling cows, or planting over-eager beans.”

A greater, yet more easily resolvable issue with Jack and the Beanstalk is the frequently thin sound quality. Even when the compact band under John Kielty is in full swing, backing a belting performance from one or more of the cast, the sound is incomplete, as if one or more frequencies are being cut out. The lack of audio colour particularly hurts McCarry’s despicable monologues. The Beacon Arts Theatre is known to have excellent acoustics so a little rebalancing will go a long way.

It is, however, a measure of this panto’s quality, that despite this, it remains so overwhelmingly enjoyable. As a comedy adventure, it consistently delivers laughs, whilst telling a meaningful story of family, friendship, and beloved cows. McHugh and Morton’s peculiarly local panto extravaganza also feels like a Greenock-made production, rich in local sledging, and idiosyncrasies. As a defiant shout against the corporatisation of panto-land, it’s a great one.

Audio issues notwithstanding, the lyrically altered pop songs of past and present sprinkled throughout are also well performed and cheerily choreographed by Georgina Mannifield. One high point amongst several has to be Willison’s lovely version of Bruno Mars’ ‘Count on Me’ in tribute to his and Jack’s friendship, elegantly illustrated by the show’s dancing ensemble.

The enthusiastic cries of ‘Hiya Willy!’ only seem to get louder every time Samuel takes the stage, and the closing finale ‘Party Mash Up’ of everything from ‘Shut Up And Dance With Me’ to ‘I Love It’ certainly leaves the audience in an extremely good mood. Given the care put into every aspect of the show, I am confident it will be even better with each subsequent performance. A lively, lovingly produced and genuinely funny traditional panto with a fresh but meaningful take on an old story, Beacon Arts Centre’s Jack and the Beanstalk is bound to delight all-comers throughout the festive season.

Featured Image: Poster for Jack and the Beanstalk – Beacon Arts Centre