Tuesday, 14 January 2025

A warm hand on Julian's entrance

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!

22 comments:

  1. OMG!!! You got Sir McKellen!!! This sounds like the best panto ever - I love Julian Clary, and have done since the Joan Collins Fan Club days. He is just the best. I loved Sticky Fingers as well - though was sure I was the only person watching it!
    Sounds like a terrific night.
    Sx

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    1. It was a magnificent night, and Serena's triumphal appearance at the end was the icing on the cake! Jx

      PS We've always adored Julian Clary, too (and yes, I did watch Sticky Moments)! I met him once...

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    2. That's a fabulous photo!! I am extremely jealous!! I would've loved to have had Julian as a friend.
      Sx

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    3. Imagine the fun times one would have just sitting with Julian, people-watching? The put-downs would be priceless!! Jx

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  2. Oh, this sounds and looks incredible. I love that you don’t miss these great shows.

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    1. This was the first Panto at the Palladium that the Madam and I had been to (and it's been going since 2016, when they revived the traditional panto there after a four-decade hiatus)! I suspect now it will become a yearly ritual... Jx

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  3. It sounds like a wonderful evening, I'm glad you had a good time. My new found fascination with Taskmaster introduced me to Julian Clary. He was the best part of the season he was in.

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    1. Never ever watched Taskmaster. I'm not entirely sure what it is or how it's supposed to work. Whatever - Julian would be brilliantly entertaining in just about anything! Jx

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  4. A Fantabulosa Bijou nochy at the Panto with me Bencoves.
    bona; apart from the Naf Palone with the big Riah in the seat in front of me

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    1. I wonder if Google Translate does Polari? Anyhow, it was indeed a wonderful night with friends, and it was a shame that woman with the bouffant hairdo happened to be sat directly in front of you - but we had a good time regardless! Jx

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  5. You two... you're living your best lives. Bravo! How very lovely to see.

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    1. We've always enjoyed the "social whirl" - and this was the very best way to kick off (hopefully) another year of similar! Jx

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    1. You would have loved it, sweetie! I understand that Panto is an unknown quantity Stateside, which is a shame. Mind you, I can just imagine some twat "taking offence" at the smutty jokes and launching a lawsuit, knowing the way 'Merka works these days... Jx

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  7. It was absolutely fabulous!! I haven't laughed so much in years. I'll definitely look out for tickets for next year (though not the £250 ones obviously😮). The bit when Sir Ian ("Serena") McKellen drew his sword and said "you shall not pass" - you could almost here a thousand men of a certain age cry with happiness 😉.

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    1. Ha! I believe you might be referring to Crog...

      It was so much fun! Roll on the next one. Jx

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    2. and Bence, and they're only the ones I know personally ;-). I'll keep checking every so often to see when they go on sale :-)

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  8. Well, I think Julian Clary could have made an effort for that first photo. It looks like he just threw on his "just popping to the shops" outfit.

    But really, how FABULOUS! I love panto but haven't been to one in years (Aladdin's still on at the Theatre Royal in Norwich, but I want to go to one with Biggins in it!).

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    1. Julian's outfits were simply astounding!

      If only you had had the foresight (and energy, and petrol) to go to Woking over the Festering Season, you would have been able to see Chris Biggins and Faye Tozer from Steps, to boot!! [Only an eight hour round-trip...] Jx

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  9. Oh! Thank you for "reviewing" this. I LOVE panto and Julian's wit would have been fab.

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    1. He was absolutely in his element! Superb. As always. Jx

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