Jack and the Beanstalk, Bournemouth Pavilion (From Salisbury Journal)

Jack and the Beanstalk, Bournemouth Pavilion

10:42am Thursday 15th December 2011 in Entertainments

WHAT a fantastic panto Bournemouth is offering this year.

We go every year and I can safely say this year’s is the best for a very long time, having just the right mix to appeal to all ages.

For the veteran theatregoer, it has solid characterisations, lots of laughs, tight performances and super sets. For your children, well, my three-year-old has been talking about it non-stop for a whole week now.

I saw Chris Jarvis (of Show Me Show Me fame) here last year. I also saw Debra Stephenson (of Bad Girls and Coronation Street) in Poole’s Peter Pan.

They were great, but somehow the two of them together, along with Corrie’s best baddie of all time Brian Capron, who played evil Richard Hillman, and the exceedingly funny Nick Wilton as Dame Trott, made for an even more enjoyable show. The two toddlers loved it, hardly wriggling despite it being a two-hour show, while my friend and I were kept in stitches with the gags aimed at the adults.

The dancers were superb and the costumes wonderful - I’m in danger of running out of superlatives here, but it was jolly good… Jack and the Beanstalk is on at the Pavilion until January 2. Call 0844 576 3000 to book.

Miranda Robertson