Last night we went along to watch a panto. Oh, yes we did! And not just any old panto, this was the long-awaited Mother Goose, with the star of the show, Sir Ian McKellen as Mother Goose, and John Bishop starring as Vic Goose.
If you absolutely love a panto, as Poppy does, with all the usual double entendres, ghost and pie-in-your-face scenes, this one ticks every box. From the moment the show opened, Poppy got right into shouting out the appropriate phrases (if a little late sometimes) gaining John Bishop’s attention who was rather impressed with her loud voice! Bishop had a great rapport with the audience, interacting with them throughout the show.
The story follows Mr and Mrs Goose ‘the Gooses’ and their menagerie of animals, in a disused Debenhams. They are threatened with eviction by the Energy Company ‘The Energy Company!’
Encanta, the Good Fairy, played by Sharon Ballard and Malignia, the Bad Fairy, played by Karen Mavundukure send a goose called Cilla Quack (Anna-Jane Casey) who lays golden eggs for them. Mrs Goose gets tricked by the Bad Fairy into seeking fame despite earning a fortune from Cilla’s golden eggs. Ballard, Mavundukure and Casey all have the most tremendous singing voices.
Mother Goose soon finds out she’s made a mistake, but not before Mckellen treats us to some divine costumes, as she attends the Oscars and the World Cup, when huge footballs are released out into the audience.
Mckellen absolutely relishes this role – even treating everyone to a spot of Shakespeare, during which the audience hang on every word.
Alongside McKellen and Bishop there were some standout performances from the rest of the cast including Jack, ‘Hiya Jack!’ played by Oscar Conlon-Morrey, who Poppy loved watching in the cake baking scene.
The airplane scene was equally as amusing, with the plot getting sillier as it went along.
Poppy loved the visual effects throughout the show and the little rituals within it – including the King of Gooseland’s introduction, which she giggled to each time he repeated it.
Every pantomime has to have a ghost scene, and this one didn’t disappoint, with Poppy excitedly shouting out ‘behind you!’ throughout. She eagerly told me this was her favourite part of the show on the way home.
Poppy loved every single number in the show, which ranged from Boom Shak-A-Lak to Streisand’s No More Tears (Enough is Enough).
In the second half, the musical numbers continued with a play on Right Said Fred’s ‘I’m too sexy’, and Poppy’s favourite, ‘Sweet Caroline’ which got us all up on our feet and singing along with our phone lights on.
The finale with the sparkling confetti raining down on the audience at the end of the show really felt like we’d experienced something pretty special.
Mother Goose is at Curve until Sunday 19 March
Tickets £10-£52
Poppy’s Star Rating
