With another festive
period now firmly in the non-corporeal grip of the Ghost of Christmas
past and all eyes focused on the wealth of dazzling promise and
opportunity lying just over the horizon, I am going to start the New
Year off in the most pertinent manner possible. By looking backwards.
Yes whilst everyone else is sitting comfortably with their feet up
having wiped the last trodden in remains of the previous annual cycle
on the doormat of NYE, I am lagging behind and have a few bits of
catching up to do. The first of which is to reflect back on one of
the highlights of my Christmas, a trip to the Panto, an experience
that was by parts joyous, hilarious and mildly traumatic.
Theatre
Royal Stratford East
In a culture rife with curious yuletide traditions,
Pantomime is up there with the best of them. It is as quintessential
a part of the British Christmas as mincing your pies and mulling your
alcohol with a weirdness factor pitched somewhere between satsumas in
stockings and wassailing. The general basis is that of an all
singing, all dancing rendition of a classic fairytale being brought
to spectacular life in a lively theatre production featuring a
healthy dose of universal humour, audience
interaction and gender swapping.
Done poorly it resembles the Les
Dennis episode of Ricky Gervais' Extras; a minor celebrity death
rattle of antiquated innuendo as former entertainers try to keep the
lights on by laughing to save from crying in front of audience whose
desire to be there is only marginally less than that of the
performers themselves. Done well it is a gloriously unifying
laugh-along for all generations of a family to experience together
without anyone secretly wishing to be somewhere else. Thankfully for
all, The Theatre Royal Stratford East's production of Sinbad the
Sailor falls firmly in to the latter category.
With a format so steeped in tradition, trying something
new can always be a risk. The sheer fact that they did not opt to go
for the millionth rehash of Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk or
Dick Whittington was already an encouraging sign. Indeed Sinbad the
Sailor is a fresh production without a hint of dust on its cover.
With a mixture of comfortably familiar tropes; the deliciously corny
humour, the daring adventure, the larger than life dame; fleshing
out a slightly less familiar story with surprisingly relevant
messages that couldn't be more appropriate for the age we are living
in, the show hits a laudable balance of the timeless and the timely.
Whilst it is all well and good having your heart in the
right place, it certainly helps to be backed by a strong creative
team and there is no doubt that people behind Sinbad have sound sea
legs. Paul Sirett has written a script generous on battle tested gags
without seeming tired and with a positive message that never becomes
preachy. Likewise director Kerry Michael keeps the energy high and the show sailing along
at a rate of knots to keep the kids from fidgeting in their seats,
the parents from checking their watches and the grandparents from
falling asleep.
The ensemble cast are uniformly impressive, with a
mixture of new talents and seasoned veterans all delivering
accomplished performances. Special mention must go to Michael
Bertenshaw whose villainous Prince Naw-zee Uss is a serving of
gourmet ham, earning and clearly relishing every boo drawn from the
audience. Another standout is Johnny Amobi whose grand dame Nurse is a highlight as a devourer of both men and scenery.
All in all, from a singing monkey to a tap dancing
sultan by way of a Genie-of-the-ketchup-bottle, there is amusement in
abundance for all facets of the audience. As for interaction, well
just because Panto is normally about being warned over what's behind
you, also be sure to keep an eye out for whats in front of you. I
don't want to spoil the surprise but if, like myself, you find
yourself sitting on the end of a row then keep your game face on
because you may find yourself involved in a very public man hunt. My
advice, just go along with it. Trying desperately to hide yourself
and avoid eye contact is futile, you can't fight the tide! In spite
of the lingering psychological scars, it only added to the overall
experience. This is family entertainment done right, from a venue
that calls itself “A Peoples Theatre”, this is very much a
Peoples Panto.
Whilst Christmas may be over, the show is still running
until January 21st so go and catch it whilst you can!
