News Beat
The best family-friendly Christmas show? The great British Panto, of course
THE UK’s towns and cities are packed full of family-friendly theatre shows at Christmas time, but surely none can please everyone aged 5 to 65 like a pantomime.
It’s getting some extra star power this year, thanks to Sky’s new Christmas movie called Tinsel Town starring Rebel Wilson and Kiefer Sutherland, who plays an out-of-work Hollywood actor that finds himself in Yorkshire, in the lead role of a small-town panto.
Kiefer is unimpressed at his new job and more fool him, because the chance to shout “it’s behind you” at a dame in drag is a gloriously British Christmas tradition
A tradition that I’d almost forgotten existed. How silly of me.
I took my six-year-old son to his first one this year – Jack and The Beanstalk at the Kings Head Theatre in Islington, north London, and it was hilariously raucous from start to finish, as you’d hope.
In this slapstick version of the fairytale classic, milkman Jack goes to battle with a greedy giant to save his mum’s ice cream parlour and his best mate – a cow called Pat.
Like any good panto, it had plenty of gags for both kids and adults, and some extremely topical sets involving higher taxes, the baffling 6-7 catchphrase and even the Jet2 advert.
There were also some great musical numbers, with tracks from the likes of Kpop Demon Hunters, Chappell Roan, Queen and the Village People.
We tick off a family Christmas show every year in London’s West End, but none have had us howling with laughter like this panto.
The Kings Head theatre is one of my favourites in the capital, thanks to its tiny size.
Round the back of the Kings Head pub, the auditorium called 4 Below seats just 50 people, so everyone gets a great view.
There are plenty of big venue offerings for December 25 though, here are some of the favourites showing across Britain.
Jack and the Beanstalk at the Kings Head Theatre, Islington. Tickets from £10.
Sleeping Beauty at the London Palladium. Tickets from £37.50.
Cinderella at Hackney Empire. Tickets from £10.
Robin Hood at the Opera House Manchester. Tickets from £15.
Sleeping Beauty at the New Theatre in Cardiff. Tickets from £21.
Cinderella at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham. Tickets from £18.
Jock and the Beanstalk at Pavillion Theatre in Glasgow. Tickets from £17.50.
