Panto report! Jack and the Beanstalk - Gala Theatre, Durham

Our first panto trip of 2017 was to the Gala Theatre, Durham, to see Jack and the Beanstalk, and what a cracking start to the year it has given us!  This show is traditional pantomime at its best, with big production values combining with loads of audience involvement.  The cast is great throughout: Jamie Brown and Sarah Boulter make a smashing leading couple as Jack and Princess Jilliana; Sally Collett is a sweet and lovable Good Fairy Moonflower; and Paul Dunn is hilarious as a very North-Eastern Dame Trott.  Special mention must go to Neil Armstrong as the odious Fleshcreep and Paul Hartley as a very manic Simple Simon, as they also wrote and directed the show.  The result is a truly anarchic show that had the audience in stitches.  Highlight for us was the wonderful slapstick scene in which Dame Trott and Simon make the giant a milkshake, but there was also a great deal of excellent interplay with the audience, including games, singalongs and a lot of good-spirited ritual humiliation and banter!  The chorus were top-notch, too.  Oh, and we mustn't forget the very lovable Milkshake the cow!