Reviews

THREE CHEERS - Derbyshire Times

The number three “rings up” so many times for the latest panto at the Pomegranate Theatre, Chesterfield, it perhaps ought to have been Dick Whittington.

As it is, the panto is Babes in the Wood. It marks the third year in succession Patric Kearns has been the Pomegranate’s dame, James Campbell has been its supercharged, madcap funny man and George Telfer the kind of menacing baddy you love to hate.

It’s also the third successive year the Pomegranate has entrusted its panto to the production companies of Bruce James and Big Dog.

Perhaps it’s that build-up of expertise that makes Babes in the Wood the best panto I’ve ever seen.
It’s an absolute Christmas cracker. The dancing is good, the costumes are good, the sets are good, the music is terrific, and it’s got to be one of the sharpest pantos around.

They’ve obviously spent a whole year thinking about how to zap Babes in the Wood to Chesterfield audiences, and the result is you shouldn’t blink – the appearance on stage of what’s been in the news and much loved children’s favourites comes fast and furious.

There’s hugging a hoodie, a dancing crazy frog, music from Dirty Dancing, and scenes that bring the house down when three Jolly Milk Maids go a-milking, and then a stage-long line-up who go into an hilarious routine about “ If they were not in pantomime, then this is what they’d be.
It clearly took split-second timing, darned hard work and inspirational direction to pull it all off, and it paid off big time.

The winsome Patric Kearns is a tonic as Nurse Glucose. One consummate dame smile from him, backed by his unusual vocal delivery, and we were smiling back. And James Campbell has got to be super-fit to turn in such high-energy performances.

There is the charm of having local children, Dominic Alexander Stevenson, Laura Jane Robertson, Ben Whiteside and Yasmin James-Birch, taking it in turn to appear as the babes.

This is a panto that deserves to be an absolute sell-out. If you’re still deciding on what computer game to but the kids for Christmas, then you could opt for taking them to a panto that will really show them what interactive can mean.

You have until the panto’s run ends on January 7th to be able to enjoy a rejuvenating dose of Nurse Glucose and co. Be warned: once they get you in the theatre, you WILL end up dancing!