www.list.co.uk/theatre REVIEW LUNCHTIME ENTERTAINMENT BABES IN THE WOOD Oran Mor, Glasgow, until Sat 20 Dec ●●●●●
A panto couldn’t really call itself a panto without imparting a stream of unadulterated nonsense upon its audience, and Dave Anderson and David MacLennan’s Glaswegian retelling of Babes in the Wood does just that, albeit to the point of being plain nonsensical at times. But we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt since it’s shoehorned into a lunch hour, squeezes a few good laughs out of its credit crunch context, and features more comedy alliteration than you could shake a lampooning lyricist’s lexicon at. Gaudily-attired sister and brother
Babes and Boobs are abandoned in the forest by their swindling aunt and uncle, where they meet an array of speculating fairytale figures such as Hood and the Wolf Estate Agents (a kind of picture book Phil Spencer and Kirstie Allsopp) and diamond dealers Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. It’s obviously been penned with adults in mind, although the fact that it’s hard for even a grown man to work out what’s going on half the time handily suggests you might as well just bring the kids along to be confused too. (Malcolm Jack)
REVIEW FESTIVE DELIGHT SLEEPING BEAUTY Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, until Sat 3 Jan ●●●●● Sally (Julie Heatherill) is the bonniest lass in the whole of the Honest Toun, but her bitter and twisted auntie Grizzlebone (Lori McLean) is having none of her 18th birthday. Instead, she plans to impose a few more than 40 winks upon the girl, with help from an assorted bunch of miscreants, including the Loch Ness monster herself. Un Nessy-ssery cruelty? With only her glaikit pal Jamie (Aaron Usher), her T-boy Ma (Graham
Crammond) and (unaccountably) Count Dracula (Edward Cory) to help, can she be saved from the Big Sleep? Liam Rudden’s relatively traditional
panto overcomes a paucity of resources with aplomb, showing some leg through the moments in this story which usually represent a sticking point. Heatherill is sweetly endearing as the title character and Crammond’s dame is redoubtable as ever, while Jodie Campbell’s tomboyish Ruby, the Highland lass who’s befriended Nessy, puts in a splendid turn. If one or two of the songs move a little further away from crowd-pleasing than is strictly advisable, the piece pulls itself back with a nice, nostalgic Shang-a-Lang number, and some old fashioned gags well executed by all and sundry. (Steve Cramer)
REVIEW 3D SPECTACLE ALADDIN King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sun 18 Jan ●●●●●
Where would the King’s panto be without Allan Stewart? All pantos rely heavily on their dame, but Stewart as Widow Twankey carries this show like a tireless packhorse. Which isn’t to say that Grant Stott’s baddie isn’t as deliciously vile as ever (he is) and that the sets and costumes don’t dazzle with plenty of Christmas sparkle (they do). There’s also an excellent nippy sweetie in the form of chief of police, Jo Freer and the Emperor’s strong tenor voice hits the spot. The rest of the show, however,
resides firmly in the shadow of Aladdin’s biggest selling point – 3D imagery. The lacklustre dance routines and weak vocals are forgotten once
Theatre
we pull on our special glasses and squeal with delight as rocks and spiders come hurtling towards us. Watching the entire audience reach out to rub a lamp which isn’t there is truly hilarious. As are Stewart’s superb one-liners, audience banter and myriad facial expressions. (Kelly Apter) REVIEW PANTO CLASSIC MOTHER BRUCE Tron Theatre, Glasgow, until Sun 4 Jan ●●●●●
The Tron pays its annual visit to the Pantosphere, a magical dimension of convention-conscious panto characters, where this year Mother Bruce (wife of the long lost King Robert The . . . ) can’t pay the rent on her council house. Luckily her hygienically-challenged son Bob (finally, a Prince Charming any girl can aspire to) and their Liza-a-like pet spider Spotty are on hand. While there are plenty of shout-out,
sing-a-long moments, the self- referential jokes and now traditional, but increasingly bitchy dismissals of the competition are solidly pitched at the adults, and a lot of the plot seems to go over the heads of the younger audience members. Fortunately, the cast’s commitment to the enthusiastic pursuit of entertainment papers over
any cracks. Mark Prendergast’s Bob is a surprisingly magnetic stand-out, particularly during a denim-clad courtroom rock solo. And it’s not every pantomime that can claim one of those as a highlight. (Kirstin Innes) REVIEW SEASONAL FAVOURITE CINDERELLA King’s Theatre, Glasgow, until Sun 11 Jan ●●●●●
Man-hungry Ugly Sisters making fart gags? Check. Drippingly wet Cinderella and Prince upstaged by every other member of cast? Check. Carriage pulled by Shetland ponies? Check. Gerard Kelly in capri pants? Check. Obligatory ‘haunted house’ scene with no relevance to plot necessitating much frenzied screaming of ‘Behind you!’? Check. ‘Bring doon the cloot!’? Check. So thoroughly does the King’s annual festive jamboree tick every possible panto box that there are absolutely no surprises here at all. However, everyone in the audience still leaves with a big fat grin on their face.
Of course, it’s the utterly uncynical, never-flagging performances by stalwarts Kelly (Buttons) and Andy Gray (the Baron) that make the whole thing such a gleeful delight.
Let’s just hope that the brilliant Karen Dunbar, swapping wigs and ballgowns at a surely-impossible pace to play both the Fairy Godmother and the Wicked Stepmother, doesn’t exhaust herself before next year. (Kirstin Innes)
Got an opinion? You can now Comment on all our articles at list .co.uk 11 Dec 2008–8 Jan 2009 THE LIST 97