Fun, free-spirited, festive, fabulous and full of beans, Jack and the Beanstalk (Adult Only) at the King’s Head Theatre is a must for all adults looking for a fantastic night out. And for kids, there’s an equally brilliant, festive, family-oriented celebration of Jack’s journey playing at the King’s Head now.
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a classic pantomime, and they’re not just about entertaining the kids with colourful costumes, wordplay and slapstick humour. Throughout the Victorian period, the pantomime continued to transform into the thigh-slapping entertainment we see today. The traditions of the Italian Commedia dell’Arte, including dance, music, tumbling, acrobatics, and mischievous characters, were further transformed by Victorian entertainment mainstays, as songs, wordplay, satire, audience participation, and plays on gender roles became central to the pantomime. At the same time, classic fairytales became part of the mix in shows that appealed to all ages. Kids loved the colour and on-stage mischief while adults picked up on the satire, sauciness and innuendo.
Over recent years, we have seen the rise of the adult panto. In these productions, the delicate balancing act between family entertainment and innuendo is unceremoniously thrown out of the fairytale castle window, allowing an ‘anything goes’ approach to sauciness, satire and sillyness. This year’s Kings Head Theatre adult production of Jack and the Beanstalk delivers that sauciness, satire, and silliness in spades, creating an adult show that is an absolute blast. In fact, if you don’t get swept away by the story of young twink Jack, who is a bit of a twat, then there is likely something wrong with you! Anyway, to the story, dear readers.
Jack Trott (Elliott Baker-Costello) is a poor country boy whose only friend is his cow, Pat (Pavanveer Sagoo), who dreams of turnips and dislikes being milked.’ Jack’s mum, Dame Trott (Victoria Scone), is hardly supportive of his needs; in fact, she is far more interested in finding a man who can serve her daily needs. But I digress: Jack and his mum depend on Pat’s milk to keep their Islington ice-cream parlour open. Still, Pat isn’t producing much milk due to their fear of the milking machine, so they end up in debt to the giant taxlord who lives in the clouds above Islington, and his minion tax collector, Nightshade (Joseph Lukehurst).
Meanwhile, just up the road, Jill (Priscille Grace) has a soft spot for Jack, despite his small penis and the fact that he thinks he is a twat. Jill would quite like to tumble with Jack, although not down a hill, but she never quite finds the confidence to ask him. Then there’s Fairy Fullobeans, who sees Jack’s potential to be the hero of Islington, while flicking her magic beans. Anyway, long story short, Fairy Fullobeans flicks her magic beans in Jack’s direction, and a beanstalk grows that reaches into the clouds, enabling Jack to climb and fight the tax giant and his minion Nightshade with the help of his mum and Jill. Oh, and don’t forget the monster who stalks the grounds of the Giant’s castle, the ‘Farage.’
With creative production, sound, costume, and lighting design from Eve Oakley, Alex Lewer, Matthew Giles, Ben Barrow, Jordan Paul Clarke, Emily Golding-Ellis, and Carrie Croft, Jack and the Beanstalk builds on the success of the King’s Head’s first pantomime, Cinderella, in 2024. And like its 2024 production, it embraces two formats: the majority of performances of Jack and the Beanstalk are traditional family pantomimes, while adult-only performances feature a different special guest star each night on selected dates.
The ensemble cast shines brighter than the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it whizzes across our solar system. Elliott Baker-Costello and Priscille Grace are delightfully innocent as the young Jack and Jill, who are desperate to climb a hill together but equally nervous of tumbling down it. While Mia Ito Smith is full of beans as the magical fairy godmother, and Pavanveer Sagoo is one of the most moovellous on-stage bovines I have seen in quite a while. But a huge shout-out has to go to Victoria Scone’s (RuPaul’s Drag Race) Dame Trott and Joseph Lukehurst as villain Nightshade. Scone is simply sublime and the comedic heart of this devilishly fun tale of a boy, a dame, a beanstalk and a giant, while Lukehurst’s dastardly villain is full of energy with a twinkle in his eye throughout.
This is a cast having the utmost fun with Andrew Pollard’s tongue-in-cheek script and direction, playing with each other on stage, adding one-liners and switching things up to create moments of sublime improvisation that occasionally throw them off course, in an intimate performance space where everyone is part of the action.
In the original fairytale, the Giant famously says, Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman. In Pollard’s panto, it should be, Fee-fi-fo-fum, I wanna dance with someone, for this is one adult panto where sitting really isn’t an option as the stellar cast gets the audience on their feet with a host of banging tunes. Fun, free-spirited, festive, fabulous and full of beans, Jack and the Beanstalk (Adult Only) at the King’s Head Theatre is a must for all adults looking for a fantastic night out. And for kids, there’s an equally brilliant, festive, family-oriented celebration of Jack’s journey playing at the King’s Head now.
Jack and the Beanstalk is playing at the King’s Head Theatre until 4 January with family performances and adult-only performances on selected dates – Book Tickets.
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