Review: JACK AND THE BEANSTALK at King's Head Theatre

Slapstick comedy, witty puns, and farcical mayhem mean the humour will appeal to all ages. Fart jokes and cartoonish sound effects get giggles out of the children in the audience, while sly sexual innuendos go straight over their heads and get a laugh out of the adults. The comedy is also packed with references to modern pop culture and memes, from ‘6-7’ to the Jet2 holiday advert jingle to Jack trading away his cow for a 24 carat gold Labubu, but it manages to feel self-deprecatingly funny rather than cringe-worthy.

The music is equally delightful, with enough musical numbers to be entertaining without detracting from the plot. Covers of popular songs have their lyrics adapted to include pubs and parodic in-story references: from ‘Pink Pony Club’ celebrating the opening of the Pink Coney Club ice cream parlour, to Sweet Caroline reimagined as Sweet Cow of Mine, to a melodramatic Bohemian Rhapsody as Jack goes up the beanstalk, each one is funny, catchy, and entirely fitting to the story.

But it’s the cast that really takes the show from amusing to downright, unforgettably hilarious. Elliott Baker-Costello is endearingly earnest and awkward as our hero Jack, Priscille Grace as intrepid heroine Jill brings just the right amount of girl power, and Mia Ito Smith is delightfully whimsical as Fairy Fullobeans. But it’s Victoria Scone who really steals the show as Dame Trott, switching dizzyingly from one outlandish outfit to another between scenes, flirting shamelessly with an audience member, and overall dramatic, dynamic, and impeccable with her comedic timing. Equally brilliant is Pavanveer Sagoo as the ‘non-bovinary’ cow, Pat: sassy, flamboyant, a budding influencer on ‘ClipClop’, and entirely irreverent towards the dramatic stakes of the story. Joseph Lakehurst is also wonderfully wicked as our villain, equal parts puckish rockstar and cringy frat boy.

Pacing wise, the show feels ever so slightly too long for the wandering attention spans of its younger audience members, but it’s the interactive elements that really keep them invested in the story. In true panto tradition, audience participation is encouraged, from booing Nightshade to chanting the characters’ names and catchphrases back to them. There’s a palpable thrill for children at the chance to be part of the story: whether that’s throwing beans at Nightshade during the final showdown, or yelling desperately at the heroes that there’s a monster behind them while they obliviously sing a song about how there’s no such thing as monsters. And really, the blatant smashing of the fourth wall is just as fun for adults.

Alongside the silliness and slapstick, the panto manages to pack in a surprising amount of depth. For children, there’s a strong message about standing up to bullies and believing in yourself. For adults, the relocation of the setting to present-day Islington, the tax collecting giant who causes a cost of living crisis, and Nightshade’s speech about stamping out individuality to create an “island of zombies” (including a blatant dig at Reform and a monster who’s referred to as the Furious Farage) all resonate. It paints an inspiring and heartwarming picture of a community under threat, coming together to fight oppression and injustice.

Jack and the Beanstalk takes a story we all know and love and flips it on his head, with a twist that's modern, outrageous, and utterly unique. With its eccentric characters, sassy quips, and chaotic storytelling techniques, it offers the perfect blend of humour and heart needed to create something that's universally appealing and entertaining.