Jack And The Beanstalk: What A Whopper! ★★★★ Charing Cross Theatre | Nov 23, 2024 - Jan 11, 2025


The big, gay panto is back! Following last year's tremendous hit, Sleeping Beauty Takes A Prick, the "He's Behind You!" gang have brought their latest seasonal offering to the Charing Cross Theatre. This year's show has all the traditional tropes, and several cast members return, including the inimitable Matthew Baldwin as the dame. Playing Jack's mother, Baldwin is in fine form and once again he can draw laughs simply from a knowing look. The master of innuendo completely commands the stage whenever he appears. Also returning this year is Jordan Stamatiadis who does a nice turn as the villainous Lady Fleshcreep. We also liked Laura Anna-Mead's Simone. Her frequent attempts to sing her signature song were a comic highpoint. As Jack, Keanu Adolphis Johnson took camp to a new level which played off nicely against Joe Grundy's closeted Reverend Tim. While "subtle" is not a word one associates with this genre, this year the emphasis seems to be on shock humour, and the paedophilia reference definitely misses the mark. Overall, the production's jokes are less topical and more scatological. Similarly "coherence" is definitely not a hallmark of the typical panto narrative. Nevertheless, this story appears to have even more threads than necessary, and it's a shame that the giant doesn't make his appearance until Act II. Such caveats aside however, Jon Bradfield and Martin Hooper have written a real audience pleaser, that is deftly directed by Andrew Beckett. Robert Draper and Sandy Lloyd's costumes are wonderfully wild, and we were amazed by Matthew Baldwin's fast changes. If you're looking to put a little x-rated magic into your seasonal celebrations, then look no further.

Rated: ★★★★

Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Steve Gregson

Want to save on tickets? See our Tips page.

When, Where, Getting there:
Map & Location: The Arches, Villiers St, London WC2N 6NL, UK

Most Popular

Les Liaisons Dangereuses ★★★ National Theatre | Mar 21 - Jun 6, 2026

Image
Spoilt, rich people whose sole occupation is scheming to destroy the lives of the naïve and gullible. No, this is not a dramatised version of the Epstein files. Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ eighteenth-century epistolary novel, depicting amoral aristocrats on the brink of the French Revolution, has inspired many incarnations, yet it continues to shock and, at times, to delight. Christopher Hampton’s stage adaptation, first presented in 1985, streamlines the narrative, focusing on the rivalry and tangled emotional connection between the two master manipulators: the Marquise de Merteuil, played by Lesley Manville, and the Vicomte de Valmont, portrayed by Aidan Turner. Together they engage in a vicious game, with Valmont attempting to seduce both the innocent Cécile de Volanges and the devout Madame de Tourvel. It is wickedly entertaining material, and it proves just as intriguing in this context as it does in the well-known teen film, Cruel Intentions . There are, however, some issues with...
Full Details »

St. Martin in-the-fields: Lunchtime Concerts ★★★★ FREE

Image
Maybe the best musical value in London. The lunchtime concerts at St. Martin's are always a wonderful way to escape the hustle and bustle that is London and the sensory overload that is Trafalgar Square. This is a beautiful setting with great acoustics, and a church pew hard enough to make sure you don't nod off. Reviewed by J.C.  Our score:    ☆☆☆☆  WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE: Mon & Fri: 1 pm - 1:45 pm ( occasionally Tues & Thurs)  St. Martin in-the-fields, Trafalgar Square Nearest tube: Charing Cross https://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/whats-on
Full Details »

Power of Sail – A Moral Thriller ★★★★ Menier Chocolate Factory | Mar 20 - May 12, 2024

Image
The bon mot that academic politics are so vicious precisely because the stakes are so small has various attributions, and its history of apparently being "borrowed" is not without some irony. Set in the context of a debate about free speech, Paul Grellong has written a piece that is less a moral thriller and more of a satire. It is really about the pettiness and lack of principle involved in navigating one's way through the choppy seas of academia. The play doesn't really do much to advance the debate about finding the line between hate speech and free speech, but it is a clinical dissection of the mendacity and petty ambition that infects the environment of those who are supposedly charged with exploring and refining that important distinction. Apparently under the rubric of free speech, Harvard professor Charles Nichols (Julian Ovenden) has invited a well-known white supremacist to participate in a panel at the university. The students are outraged and the dean is ...
Full Details »

Sweetmeats ★★★ Bush Theatre | Feb 7 - Mar 21, 2026

Image
When two South Asian elders meet at a diabetes management course, romance is the last thing on the agenda. Yet in Karim Khan’s charming romantic comedy, love proves to be the sweetest item on offer. Diabetes becomes more than a medical condition. It serves as a metaphor for grief, while food stands in for the affection missing from the lives of Hema and Liaquat, both widowed and unsure whether love can return. Hema has created a combative persona, fortifying herself against further hurt. Liaquat, by contrast, is burdened by regret, haunted by feelings he never voiced. They bond over their shared weakness for sweets and the resultant diabetes, but their differences are pronounced. She is Indian and he is Pakistani. Even so, what unites them gradually outweighs what divides them. The political message is clear without being laboured. Performed by Shobu Kapoor and Rehan Sheikh, Hema and Liaquat are instantly recognisable and deeply sympathetic. We root for them to take the risk and find h...
Full Details »

If. Destroyed. Still. True. ★★★ The Hope Theatre | Apr 26 - May 14, 2022

Image
"You can't go home again." If. Destroyed. Still. True. is a familiar story of friends separated by time and the decisions to follow different paths in life. Jack Condon presents two young men who have bonded in youth but who become separated and increasingly lost to one another as they grow up. John, played by Condon, fears change and clings to the familiar even as he recognises how it limits his life. In the end, he retreats to a world of nostalgia, alcohol and anger. Best friend, James, played by Theo Ancient, manages to negotiate the path of social mobility but is riddled by guilt about what he has left behind. Both actors bring a resonant truth to their performances, and Condon is especially convincing as the partially self-aware, awkwardly articulate John. While Whitney Kehinde rings true as Charlotte, James' girlfriend, it is a role that is only partially developed. We are left guessing at her backstory, and her character serves only to bring into focus the fra...
Full Details »

White Christmas ★★★★ The Mill at Sonning | Nov 27, 2024 - Jan 25, 2025

Image
It's official! Christmas is here. With a traditional buffet meal and their always enjoyable holiday show, The Mill at Sonning has kicked off the season! White Christmas with its satisfyingly predictable story is all about the music and the dancing, and Director Jonathan O'Boyle does a brilliant job of taking a small stage and capturing the essence of a big film musical. The tale of two GIs who, following the war, become a famous double act, and who then team up with a pair of singing sisters to put on a show which will save the Vermont inn owned by their former commander, is as sweet as maple syrup. It certainly takes us back to a simpler, more optimistic time in America, and there's not a hint of irony anywhere. In this iteration of the classic, the cast dance up a storm with some terrific choreography from Gary Lloyd, and celebrate Irving Berlin's great song classics such as "White Christmas," "Blue Skies" and "Count Your Blessings." The...
Full Details »

The Authenticator ★★★★★ National Theatre | Until May 9, 2026

Image
When some 18th-century diaries written by the founder of Harford House are discovered, his descendant Fenella calls in two academics, Abi and Marva, to examine them. The manuscripts, which detail Harford’s involvement in the slave trade, soon prove to be far more than a mere catalogue, and the complex history of Britain’s role in the enslavement of Africans acquires a distinctly human face. The subject is a fraught one, with strong, often ahistorical and unnuanced opinions drowning out the complicated reality. Winsome Pinnock has written a fascinating and richly funny play that shows how this heritage touches three women, each in a very different way. Pinnock manages to explore the complexity of her subject with extraordinary humour and humanity. This is theatre at its finest, taking on a difficult subject, humanising it, making it dramatically compelling and avoiding the needlessly didactic. There is much to learn and much to ponder in this play, but it is also deeply entertaining. Sy...
Full Details »

John Proctor is the Villain ★★★★★ Royal Court Theatre | Mar 20 - Apr 25, 2026

Image
When a class of students meets to study The Crucible , the play takes on a radical new interpretation and some small town secrets begin to surface. Kimberly Belflower has crafted a work that updates Arthur Miller’s allegory, in which the Salem witch trials prefigure 1950s America’s obsession with communism and Joseph McCarthy’s Red Scare, a period that smeared the reputations of many innocent people. Set in 2018, at the height of the #MeToo movement, John Proctor is the Villain explores sexual exploitation and the challenge of persuading others to believe what cannot easily be proven when the powers that be are not on side. While Miller’s commentary focused on mob hysteria, which reinforced the prevailing orthodoxy, Belflower examines the other side of the question. How do the voiceless assert themselves in the face of entrenched authority? Dónal Finn is utterly compelling as the cool young English teacher Mr Smith, who draws the best from his class. It is a performance that will reso...
Full Details »

ABBA Voyage ★★★★★ ABBA Arena, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park | Extended Run

Image
When great music from the past meets mind boggling technology from the future, the result is ABBA Voyage . This is a concert like no other. In a purpose built arena designed specifically for the show, massive high resolution LED screens, advanced lighting, and surround sound are used to create a fully immersive ABBA concert experience. Although the group’s last appearance in London was at Wembley Arena in 1979, they return technologically in this extraordinary production. These are not holograms or AI generated performances. This is a meticulously animated concert based on real performances by the band themselves. To achieve this effect, the group came together and re-performed their music using motion capture technology. They partnered with top visual effects experts to digitally recreate their younger selves. While the show includes a live band and backup singers, the Agnetha, Björn, Benny, and Anni-Frid seen on stage appear every bit as real as their original counterparts. One quick...
Full Details »

American Psycho ★★★★★ Almeida Theatre | Jan 22 - Mar 14, 2026

Image
The novel and film American Psycho were a satire on the superficiality and materialism of young financial professionals in New York City in the 1980s. The musical adaptation premiered at the Almeida Theatre in 2013 under its then new artistic director, Rupert Goold, and it now returns as his final production before leaving the post. With a second Trump term underway, this story of over-polished surfaces concealing a psychotic killer utterly devoid of values takes on a renewed and deeply ironic resonance. It is easy to read the central character, Patrick Bateman, as representative of America itself. References to Trump and other cultural icons within the 1980s setting enrich the parody and prompt the audience's knowing laughter which is sharpened by hindsight. The values of the Reagan era can be seen as inevitably leading to the current state of American politics. The production is beautifully choreographed by Lynne Page and superbly acted throughout. Arty Froushan is suitably slim...
Full Details »

The City Life Magazine | Reviews & Ratings