Get tickets if you can. Billed as suitable for 5 to 105-year-old, and as someone at the older end of the range, I can vouch that this is true. I chuckled and marvelled my way through this inventive retelling of a familiar and popular tale. The play has all the ingredients of a successful Christmas play: sing-along song, dance, jokes, puppetry and a cow we would all like to take home with us. The story, set in Hexham, makes witty references to local businesses and figures which all add to the fun. The local media take a gentle hit with the journalist parodied in a way we all enjoyed hugely. The cast play multiple roles with great comic timing and characterisation.
So, how was Jack and the Beanstalk retold… You’ll have to go and see it but the writer and director, Bob Nicholson, has taken an old tale and teased out existing themes in a subtle and surprising way. The audience are on everybody’s side, even the supposed villains, and humanity and humour prevail. The audience loved it and so did I.
The acting was superb, the set simple and effective, the puppets great. Congratulations to Kitchen Zoo, the actors and the production team. They have truly pulled the gold out of the bag.
As for the cow, she stole the show, beguiling us with her eyelashes and expressive tail.
Jack and the Beanstalk runs until 5 January 2025
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