There is something in the British psyche that leads thousands upon thousands of people, up and down the country, regular theatre-goers or not, to be strangely drawn to go to a Panto at this time of year. Knockabout entertainment, full of child-friendly colours, bangs, special effects, puppets and clownish characters making silly jokes? Check. Filthy double-entendres and innuendo that flies over the kiddie-winkies' heads and keeps the adults entertained? Check. Loads of audience interaction, men dressed as women and women dressed as men, perhaps a famous (or semi-famous) face in a guest-starring role, a couple of recognisable songs, loads of OTT costumes, and a cornier-than-corny plot that doesn't take much concentration and inevitably leaves everyone happy-ever-after? Of course.
However, mix all those ingredients together with one of our finest camp comedians Julian Clary, and the deep, deep pockets of the London Palladium and the production company Michael Harrison's "Crossroads" - and the entertainment is simply the finest in the business!
So it was that "our gang" - Madam Arcati, Hils, Crog, John-John, Our Sal, Lou, Bence and I - champing at the bit with excitement - headed off for the Palladium's 2024-25 season spectacular Robin Hood.
From the review in London Theatre:
This Robin Hood would be better titled "The Julian Clary Show". Even though the cast is bursting with talent... it is Clary who draws us in with his eye-popping costumes (the giant owl and castle complete with turrets and flags are stand-out designs) and naughty humour. His jokes are so near the knuckle that audiences were left open-mouthed on press night with one comment about 73-year-old Nigel Havers being “the poster boy for the assisted dying campaign”. Clary also goes after Keir Starmer and former Masterchef presenter Gregg Wallace - though most of his jokes remain classic Clary smut.
It's what we pay our money for!
Eternal "butt of the jokes" Nigel Havers at least had his moment in the spotlight at the show's opening number We Need A Hero (sung by "The Spirit of the Forest", aka the "narrator" who tries his best to keep some semblance of plot threads together, Rob Madge), where - in addition to a tableau of British legends and, erm, an animatronic dinosaur(!) - he was lowered precariously on strings from the ceiling as Superman/"Super-Nige"! West End stalwart Charlie Stemp as "Alan-a-Dare" and newbie "Little John" (Tosh Wanogho-Maud) got to perform some spectacular dance numbers - and, of course, were frequently on the receiving end of Julian's acid tongue [oo-er].
“Channel 5’s sultry star” (according to Mr Clary) Jane McDonald was given free rein on the big show-stopper numbers like You're My World. Even American ex-pat - and actual musical theatre star - Marisha Wallace, despite appearing at times utterly bewildered in her role as the villainous "Sheriff of Nottingham" got to show off her talents, singing (for some reason unrelated to the show) Defying Gravity from Wicked. Of course, ventriloquist (and Palladium panto regular) Paul Zerdin and puppet "Sam" got all the customary call-and-return and singalong bits to engage the children. And the traditional - and exhausting - ensemble number If I Were Not a Merry Man, where everyone is in line, waving the tools of their "alternative chosen trade" around, almost hitting each other as they do so, was utterly hilarious! We had tears streaming down our faces.
From WhatsOnStage:
The chemistry between Clary and McDonald is panto gold, of course, as they both share a love for cruising (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) and her constant requests for him to “satisfy her womanly needs” are, alas, always met with a closeted hint of resistance....In a show that boasts giant, fire-breathing dragons and flying fire engines, drones disguised as ghosts floating over the audience and even a 3D film section, it’s simply the communal spirit of pantomime that brings the real festive fulfilment at the Palladium. As Madge sings: “Well… hello, panto! Ain’t it nice to have it back where it belongs?” - a nod to the venue’s Imelda Staunton-led Hello, Dolly! in the summer - you can’t help but lucidly reply: “Oh yes, it is!”
And... before the glittering finale, with all the biggest and best costumes on show being paraded around, there was the "big reveal". By way of concluding the story of "Robin and his Merry Men" getting their final comeuppance on "the Sheriff", the heroic "King Richard" needed to make his entrance to save the day. This part has been created in this show as a revolving door of special guest stars - indeed, previous King Richards have included James Corden, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Gary Wilmot, Paul Merton, Mark Gatiss, Beverley Knight, Christopher Biggins, Patricia Hodge, Jenny Eclair, Alan Carr, David Walliams, Jason Donovan, Gyles Brandreth, David Mitchell, Lee Mead, Al Murray and Jon Culshaw (as Donald Trump!) - for this, the penultimate evening show, however, the honour went to...
Sir Ian ("Serena") McKellen!!
We were very "merry men", indeed!
Roll on next year, I say!
