Review: JACK AND THE BEANSTALK at KickstArt Theatre Productions

It's been a while since I've seen a true pantomime with all the "look behind you" bells and whistles - and I'm happy to say that Steven Stead's Jack and the Beanstalk did not disappoint. Durban's KickstArt Theatre Productions has finally brought one of their hilarious creations down to Cape Town and it is a lot of fun. Children and adults were crying with laughter and singing along throughout the show.

Jack and the Beanstalk has all the classic panto ingredients - a fabulous dame (played by Blessing Xaba), a wicked villain (played by Liesl Coppin), a singalong, audience interactions and a whole lot of magic. It is a visual feast to watch - with brilliant costumes and gorgeous design from Greg King. The magic was also brought to life so beautifully through the King's set and the lighting design, done by Tina le Roux.

I did feel like the show was a little bit long. The first act is over an hour, which did lead to some shifting in seats from the younger audience members. And then the second act felt significantly shorter. Playing with this balance of time might help reduce those ants in the pants.

The ensemble cast of whacky characters is a very strong unit and the singing voices were all beautiful, but I do want to give a special shout out to Bryan Hiles and Brent Palmer as the thieving goons. They were outstanding in their ridiculousness, and their comic timing together is flawless.

Overall - Jack and the Beanstalk is good fun for everyone. Take the kids or grab your friends and go have a good laugh this winter. It'll warm you up from the inside out. The production runs until 27 July at the Baxter and tickets are available from Webtickets.

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