I can’t imagine a Christmas season without a trip to the London Palladium pantomime. I remember looking forward to it so much whenever I went as a child and when they brought it back ten years ago, I was first in line banging to be let in (figuratively, at least). And, boy oh boy, have they taken the opportunity to point out that this is the tenth anniversary of the return of the Palladium panto! I’m all for a spot of nostalgia, but this rather takes the biscuit with an inordinately long introduction wallowing through the last ten years. Pretty heavy-handed stuff! Mind you, as Julian Clary himself points out, there’s not much to the story of Sleeping Beauty – five minutes worth of plot and the rest is padding.
But what delightful padding it is. As you would expect from a Michael Harrison pantomime, the sets are extravagant, the costumes outstanding, and the orchestra (under the baton of Greg Arrowsmith) sumptuous. The first Act concludes with us all arriving at the Forest of Thorns, a theatrical tour-de-design which not only monopolises the stage but the auditorium.
A superb ensemble of boys and girls in the chorus carry the responsible load of driving the musical numbers with the appropriate mix of fun family fantasy and inimitable Palladium knowing naughtiness. In fact, it was an alumnus from last year’s Palladium Panto, Robin Hood, who grew into this year’s Prince Peter of Pimlico, Amonik Melaco; a confident jump towards stardom with some terrific material about how he got the job. I was surprised that Mr Clary didn’t remark on what a good fist he made of it.
He is matched by a charming performance by Emily Lane as the super-goody Princess Aurora; but it is a mark of the Palladium Panto that they are the least two important characters in the entire show. It’s really a showcase for individual stars to come out and do a routine in the Grand Old Tradition of the Palladium Revue – perhaps nowhere illustrated better than in Dave Knox’s couple of minutes of fire-eating as Master of the Royal Flame.
However, I’m sorry to say that it’s not all Cakes and Ale. In the first half, some of the script seems a little underpowered, and scenes rather peter out into nothing. I went into the interval feeling that this year’s show was a little forced and flat. Things cheer up enormously in the second Act, including a very jolly Twelve Days of Panto routine, Paul Zerdin’s mastery of ventriloquism with two hapless punters from the audience, and lots of Evita references, including an inspired moment with Nigel Havers on the balcony.
In addition to the usual fare of endless opportunities for Julian Clary to be outrageous and Nigel Havers to be ridiculed, much of the show relies on the increasingly National Treasure-to-be Rob Madge providing a theatrical conduit between the audience and the stage as The Diva of Dreams, and they are fantastic as always. New recruit Jon Culshaw makes us shudder with terror at his impersonations of both Donald Trump and Keir Starmer, although, personally, I think he should drop the Martyn Lewis.
Much of the success of the Palladium panto relies on how well the big guest star takes to the challenge. Whilst comparisons are odious (but I always do them anyway) Catherine Tate is among the best of the bunch. She relishes the campy cruelty of playing Carabosse, with an enviably callous vocal delivery. The show is dotted with appearances from some of her favourite characters; her sketch based on gay-denying Derek in the first Act doesn’t really work, but the appearance of am I bovvered Lauren near the end works very well, but the best moment in the show comes with Nan Taylor fronting the ensemble in a rousing rendition of Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now. There’s no doubt that she received the biggest cheer from the audience.
Enormous fun and some tremendous routines – just a shame they spent so long getting going with all that tenth anniversary material! At time of writing there are just sixteen tickets left for the last five performances, as it closes on Sunday 11th January. But we are promised a new Panto for 2026-27, so hurrah for that!
For They’re Jolly Good Fellows!