Review: POTTED PANTO, Garrick Theatre

James Seabright must be a very busy man at the moment. With numerous productions currently playing across London, including the excellent Trainspotting and F**king Men at The Vaults, he now brings Olivier Award-nominated show Potted Panto to the Garrick Theatre for a suitably festive run.

Under the premise of covering seven classic pantomimes in 80 minutes, the show is like a compilation of panto's greatest hits. From Snow White to Cinderella, the boys whip through the stories at breakneck speed, playing almost every part themselves.

Featuring double Oliver Award-nominated Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner, the pair have a palpable chemistry and energy, with Clarkson playing the fool and Turner desperately attempting to keep things on the straight and narrow. A clever aspect to the show is creating a running education of the history and conventions of the pantomime genre. Highlights include Turner trying to explain the tradition of the ghost being 'behind you' and the need for a baddie to always get his comeuppance.

There are lots of additions to make the stories feel current. Boris Johnson, Putin, Donald Trump and a gangster street-talking cat feature, along with slightly lazy stereotypes, such as Sleeping Beauty's Fairy of the North wearing a flat cap and talking of whippets. One highlight is the section of the show being shown in 3D, with the stalls audience having spiders thrust at them and being sprayed with water and snow.

Very small contributions from Joanna Bool as Fairy Beau Bells and Paul Aitchison as Mr Nut seem oddly short and unnecessary; the fairy appears briefly in the first pantomime of Dick Whittington and again right at the end. Mr Nut only appears fleetingly in a purple jumpsuit and in the A Christmas Carol/Aladdin hybrid at the end of the show. These are parts that the boys could have played, as they played all the others.

Despite the comedy and energy of the performance, there is a feeling that this is the budget version of a West End pantomime. Set design is very sparse and costumes consist of a variety of hats, glasses, waistcoats and animal heads. There are no special effects or showy magic tricks. Not that the kids in the audience seem to notice: jokes flow thick and fast and focus a lot on toilet humour, which the children obviously adore.

The skills that Clarkson and Turner have learnt though years of working in children's television are clear to see. In many ways, they both have an ideal personality for panto; each has a great connection with the audience, engaging the children by making them laugh and keeping the adults interested with just enough risqué innuendo.

Potted Panto is a fun gallop through the most traditional pantomime stories - just don't expect any fireworks.

Potted Panto is at the Garrick Theatre until 15 January, 2017

Photo Credit: Gabrielle Motola

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