An amazingly camp, interactive play that most people would enjoy – starring Ian Mckellen and Liverpool’s own John Bishop
Mother Goose at Liverpool Empire is a play made for the masses to enjoy. Comprised of amazing costumes, talented singers and engaging dance numbers – the play has something for everybody. The real selling point of this performance is the audience participation – it’s a real classic pantomime piece that will remind you of childhood with all the “he’s behind you” and boo-ing and cheer-ing. Front row seats also get treated to the potential to have lots of ingredients from the stage – yes ingredients land on them whilst members seated further back are susceptible to some chocolates and the occasional squirt of water. This makes for an engaging evening at the theatre.
To start off the review I have to commend the play’s comedic side, as the play had humour for people of any age – from slapstick to innuendos. It’s one of those wonderful numbers where the humour is tailored so adults can enjoy themselves and have a laugh at jokes that kids wont be able to understand yet. My one criticism of the panto is that whilst there is jokes for everybody – it is very much tailored to an older audiences humour, maybe 40+, despite this, as a 20 year old, I still chuckled a lot.
The play started with an impromptu introduction from Liverpool’s own John Bishop who introduces the play, audience participation expectations and throws in some one liners and stand up whilst dealing with any would-be hecklers. This sets the heart-warming atmosphere for the evening. Unlike other shows, this play was very off the cuff and left room for nightly changes, this gave the play a different feel to the normally fully rehearsed pieces I am used to seeing – the actors throughout the play were quick to adapt to any changes and stifled their own laughter quickly enough to entertain us.
Another thing I have to mention is the amazingly talented cast: there was Ian Mckellen and John Bishop who both gave us stellar performances. The pairing of these two is pure genius. I cant neglect to mention the iconic menagerie of animals and fairies! The fairies in particular excelled in their musical numbers with their strong voices – Sharon Ballard (Encanta) and Karen Mavundukure (Malignia) shined bright on that stage.
The soundtrack was full of golden oldies and true classics – brought to life by the amazing cast and colourful outfits. The night was brought to a close with John Bishops rendition of Sweet Caroline in which he invited the audience to join in – the atmosphere at this point was truly magical and there wasn’t anywhere I’d rather be than in Liverpool’s Empire at that moment.
Mother Goose is showing at Liverpool Empire until the 4th of March before continuing it’s journey across the country until the 16th of April where its last night will take place in Bristol. Please find tickets at: https://mothergooseshow.co.uk/