A fun and outrageous adult pantomime which outstays its welcome
The Great British Pantomime is a cultural institution. A family-friendly package of campy comedy, a well-worn story, and toe-tapping tunes is wrapped up in the decorative bow of jokes which sail over the heads of younger audience members. Jack and the Beanstalk: What a Whopper takes this zany theatricality, swaps the camp for overtly gay, and dials the nob gags up to 11. This is an adult pantomime that provides a fair few laughs, and revels in toeing the line between outrageous and unacceptable, but begins to drag once this shock factor wears off.
‘Adult’ Christmas shows have fierce competition this year, including Nick Mohammed’s A Christmas Carol(ish) at Soho Place, and Sh*tfaced Shakespeare’s A Pissedmas Carol at the Leicester Square Theatre. Jack and the Beanstalk: What a Whopper distinguishes itself by wholeheartedly committing to the structure of a traditional pantomime: there’s plenty of audience participation, including a sing-along to the Grand Old Duke of York which builds to a gag about Prince Andrew. Sweets are thrown into the audience, but they’ve had to be purchased from an overpriced Leicester Square American candy store due to Brexit. This juxtaposition between traditional pantomime and outrageous humour provides many of the first half’s biggest laughs, but by the second the audience are becoming immune to the novelty and nothing steps in to take its place.
Matthew Baldwin shines as the traditional pantomime dame – an explosion of charisma, cock jokes and costume changes. He seems to genuinely enjoy the role’s naughtiness, authentically laughing as he winks to the audience, and at the odd flubbed line or wardrobe malfunction. Excellent comic timing combines with this sense of fun to be utterly compelling, and his Dame Dolly Trott consistently delivers the most entertaining skits even as the rest of the show is going off the rails.
All good pantomimes do an excellent line in innuendo, and Jon Bradfield and Martin Hoppers’ script fires out jokes at great pace. Although many of these are barely sufficient for a single-entendre, enough land to maintain a strong sense of momentum. The writing duo – and the audience – clearly revel in their own outrageousness: within the first minute, spectators are gleefully joining in with a hard C-bomb call-and-response.
Jack and the Beanstalk: What a Whopper is neither clever nor sophisticated, but it makes no claim to be. Where it excels is in the excitement of engaging with something really quite naughty. But as this delight wears off, and nothing steps in to rekindle it, the end result is a show that would be more entertaining with 20 minutes pruned from its second half. Ultimately, there’s only so long you can joke about a Viking dildo and still have an impact.
Jack and the Beanstalk: What a Whopper! plays at the Charing Cross Theatre until 11th January, with Saturday and Sunday matinees. Tickets can be purchased here.