11 December – 4 January
Pantomime is a curious theatrical phenomenon. While out in the real world, social mores, customs and attitudes seem to change at a bewildering pace, pantomimes seem firmly rooted in a bygone age where the template rarely seems to change from year to year. Whether Aladdin, Cinderella, Robin Hood or a host of other stock titles which rotate around theatres up and down the land each December, we can expect the same diet of the same ingredients every time – the Hinge and Bracket-style dame, the overblown caricature of the pantomime villain, the neighbouring towns as the butt of numerous jokes, the slapstick style, and so on – all just served in a slightly different though reassuringly familiar way. And yet the enduring appeal and undiminishing demand suggest we still cannot get enough of pantomimes, with Malvern Theatre’s Jack and the Beanstalk reliably and enjoyably ticking all the stock panto boxes.
Or perhaps this should have been called Jill and the Beanstalk instead? There is nothing wrong with Joshua Price’s solid, wholesome performance as the eponymous Jack Trott (a role he has played several times prior to Malvern), but it is Ruth Betteridge who sparkles with verve and vigour as a vivacious Jill, whilst Tom Lister, known to some older members of the audience from his nine years in ITV’s Emmerdale – and appropriately enough for a villain – steals the show as a wonderfully hammed-up and charismatic Fleshcreep, the Giant’s right hand man. Lister’s panto pedigree is clear: he clearly relishes this role, playing every scene with energy and an enormous sense of fun in a performance which feels like a fusion of Rik Mayall and Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen. Furthermore, local panto stalwart Mark James is to Malvern what Tweedy is to nearby Cheltenham; both play similar roles with James’ latest incarnation, Silly Billy, a predictable source of predictable humour, but done with such enthusiasm and bonhomie it is hard not to chuckle along with everyone else at the inanity of it all. And there is much to laugh at too.
Director Paul Milton has pulled this show together admirably with less than two weeks’ rehearsal time, scarcely believable judging by the many strengths of tonight’s impressive opening show, even with a sprinkling of scripted “ad libs”. Yes, the show is over-long, pushing three hours including the interval, but it has some neat tricks and clever touches up its flamboyant sleeves, most notably a 3D party piece which, whilst not necessarily cutting-edge technology, provides plenty of audience interaction. Boppy, poppy musical numbers featuring a live band and six-piece ensemble of dancers keep the pace moving along and the energy levels high, while further support is lent by Ella Holt as a spirited fairy and by another Malvern favourite, Nick Wilton, as Dame Dot Trott. Talented children from a local dance school provide the cuteness too, seemingly unfazed by their adult co-stars as they strut their stuff nervelessly alongside them on the stage.
As with every panto, those of a nervous disposition must avoid the front rows: there is plenty of audience participation here including a live video-camera feed scene which works a treat. Ultimately it is those comfortably reassuring childhood tales and largely familiar, unchanging conventions of panto which draw us back each year, only to laugh at the same jokes all over again.
★★★★☆ Tony Clarke 12 December 2025
Photographer’s credit @ Stuart Purfield
