Pantomime virgins warmed to this colourful, noisy and funny show

I WENT to watch Jack and the Beanstalk with my boyfriend, Luis, and his five-year-old nephew, Mason, both of whom had never been to a pantomime.

Luis came to the UK about three years ago and didn’t even know there was such a thing.

He did at least know the story of Jack and the Beanstalk but for Mason it was new so it was exciting to see his reactions.

Justin Fletcher played Gill Trott, Jack’s brother, who, along with his mother Nanny Hydrangea Trott (Paul Morse), led the show with their humour and many dairy puns.

When Gill first walked out and asked, “Do you know what my name is?” all the children shouted, “Mr Tumble!”, which I had to explain to Luis. At first, Mason was a bit unfocused. He looked around the audience a lot, seeing how many other kids had a multi-coloured flashing dinosaur stick, but once I put him on my lap and Luis and I began shouting replies back to the stage with the rest of the crowd, he got into it.

His favourite character was Fairy Bluebell, played by Rachel Delooze, who was a lovely singer and an enthusiastic character.

Mason loved the way she was able to turn beans into a giant stalk. The visual effects of the play were impressive. There were fairy dust explosions and a giant which walked and blinked — I’m not sure how they made that work, maybe someone on stilts?

There were two small children inside Buttercup the cow and they did a very funny job inside of what I’m guessing was a sweaty and hot costume.

They made the eyes blink, ears go down and legs shake as if it were crying when it had to be sold.

When Gill made a joke of asking the people inside if they were okay, a small thumbs-up came out from underneath, making all of us laugh, not just the kids.

Nanny’s costumes were another entertaining and very random aspect, from a hot-air balloon to a chicken to an igloo.

The music was great and again humorous. I won’t give all the spoilers but one of the songs, which was sung to Buttercup when she wasn’t producing any milk, was Why Don’t You Fill Me Up, Buttercup? There was also a big theme of farting on stage, particularly from the “cloud”.

I heard one man behind me say, “This is just bizarre”, which I agree with, but it’s all part of the British tradition.

I hadn’t really been to a pantomime before either but I had performed in some when I was younger so had watched the dress rehearsals. It was so nice to be part of the crowd and share it with two people that I love.

It was a great bonding experience with Mason and I hope to be his favourite aunty for life.

The Hexagon was in a great location to then go and get some Italian food and to see the Christmas lights by the river before we made our way home.

Next year, Sleeping Beauty will be the spectacle at the Reading theatre, which was my favourite fairy princess story when I was a girl. I hope we three can come back and see it.

Marianna Casal