written by Callum Latham, David Hewitson and Steven Brackenridge
Review by Libbi Hutton
Jack and the Privately Owned Beanstalk by Theatre 118 is everything a panto should be: wildly entertaining, fast-paced, ridiculous, outrageous, and most crucially ‘theatre for the people’. Advertised as ‘a pantomime for the rest of us’, this rendition of a classic fairy-tale takes a solidly working-class political stance whereby the audience boos the ‘greedy landlords’ and chants ‘no more rent!’ The panto, written by Callum Latham, David Hewitson and Steven Brackenridge does an excellent job at reinventing symbols of the traditional fairy tale. The beanstalk is the ‘corporate ladder’, where at the top Jack finds not a giant, but instead lawyers, politicians, (Kier Starmer and Maggie Thatcher referenced), landlords who raise rent, and rich capitalists who own social media platforms.
Theatre 118 exists on a floor of an abandoned office block in Trongate. The panto addresses the fact that this theatre experience is far from the luxury of the King’s Theatre, or The Tron just around the corner. Yet, the under-funded community theatre setting only exemplifies the panto’s political message to ‘save Glasgow from King Stefan’s corporate craptown.’ Big-business is not just the mythical enemy on stage, but indeed Theatre 118’s Jack and the Privately Owned Beanstalk directly address the symptoms of late-stage capitalism that we find ourselves in, where ‘entire communities are kicked out of their homes’ due to rising rent. Other systematic issues are included in the performance such as transphobia (‘next we’ll take down JK Rowling’) and rising mental health issues ‘in this economy’, giving a rounded perspective of the times.
The panto boasts a live band comprised of bass, electric guitar, keyboard and drums, whose larger than life musical-esc songs add such an energy to the performance. Characters have their own theme tunes, my favourite being the heavy metal bassline of evil King Stefen played by Steven Brackenridge. Strobe lighting and a rolling thunder sound effect accompanies this character’s entrance: even with a self-proclaimed “zero-budget show”, the creative decisions are spot-on. The set design is inspired, with a mechanical beanstalk which grows via a string contraption being pulled from the back of the audience. I have much admiration for the cast and crew for these clever and high-effort creative choices.
Praise goes to Becky Donovan as Silly Billy whose facial expressions were brilliant and to Benjy England as Dame Trott for their hilarious and often sexually outrageous drag character (we witness a strip tease). Audience interaction is frequent, as well as an ad-hoc stand-up comedy set in the interval by Cieran Low, and a raffle to end; everything a community-oriented panto should have! Bring yer pals for an enjoyable night out if you love a high-energy, feel-good panto: it’s certainly worth the affordable ticket price, and in doing so you will be supporting the important existence of Glasgow’s Theatre 118.
Bring Yer Pals For An Enjoyable Night
Jack and the Privately Owned Beanstalk runs at Theatre 118, Glasgow
Review by Libbi Hutton – contact@corrblimey.uk
Libbi is an aspiring journalist and creative based in Glasgow. A graduate of Social Anthropology from the University of Edinburgh, she is particularly interested in politically engaged and experimental arts. Outside of reviewing for Corr Blimey, Libbi spends her free time making music, both in bands and on her own, which has recently developed into a passion for writing an original musical. A lover of all-things-performance, Libbi welcomes the opportunity to indulge in the world of theatre.
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