Review: JACK AND THE BEANSTALK, Dundee Rep

This year’s festive offering at Dundee Rep Theatre is Jack and the Beanstalk: A New Moosical, written by Jonathan O’Neill and Issac Savage and directed by Stephen Whitson. 

It’s Jack and the Beanstalk, but not as you know it. This time the story is told by Jack’s Best Friend, a Highland cow called Caroline. Caroline (Suzie McAdam) was a Christmas present for young Jack (Ronan O’Hara) and the pair quickly became best friends. Blissfully happy, Caroline produces the sweetest milk, which the Trott family build their ice cream business upon. But when tragedy strikes the family, grief leaves Caroline unable to produce milk and the business folds. Mrs Sherry Trott (Laura Lovemore) says this beloved family member will have to be sold.

Sweet but not very bright, Jack tries to think of a way to keep his Best Friend at home with him. But when he is offered some magic beans in exchange for Caroline, he falls for it with the idea of great riches taking priority over loyalty. 

Suzie McAdam is a wonderful hero for this story as the brave and bold Caroline. Caroline has a big heart, which makes the contrast all the more stark when the Trotts lose their way. After discovering great riches, the Trott’s grow cold, shallow and money-obsessed and although all is right in the end, it’s difficult for them to come back from.

There are some brilliant uses of puppetry in Jack and the Beanstalk, particularly in a scene where the animals escape a rundown petting zoo. Caroline befriends an array of animals who are more likely to strike a chord with younger audience members, as the fart jokes just keep on coming. 

The sweet folk music is a nice touch but it's the big ballad “Udderly Alone” that really makes an impact. Using actor-musicians is a real treat, and the show sounds great even if a couple of tracks are a bit repetitive. 

This version of Jack and the Beanstalk is a bit plot-heavy, and there are a lot of challenges in Jack and Caroline’s relationship, but in the end, it is a reasonably heart-warming tale. 

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