Cornwall

I&#8217;ve said it before it but it really is a lot of fun when a classic is given a cheeky local and festive glow up or two, and Steve Marmion – back again as the writer of this year’s Hall for Cornwall panto – has done just that in Jack and the Beanstalk. 



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Directed by all round-pantomime expert Joyce Branagh, Cornish talent Edward Rowe&nbsp;returns once again &#8211; but! He&#8217;s not the villain (Long John Silver, Hook). Famous from his film, Bait, and as the Kernow King, this year he&#8217;s trying on something else for size, too. And doesn&#8217;t he look ravishing. Meet Maid Trott.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="679" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-08796.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_04.12.24-2-1000x679.jpg" alt="HALL FOR CORNWALL, TRURO, ENGLAND - December 4th 2024 : HFC Playhouse Productions ÒJack and The BeanstalkÓ, dress rehearsal with invited guests from the RCHT Oncology unit in the audience, photographed by HfC photographer in residence Hugh Hastings." class="wp-image-35687" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-08796.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_04.12.24-2-1000x679.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-08796.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_04.12.24-2-800x543.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-08796.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_04.12.24-2-768x522.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-08796.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_04.12.24-2.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



And so, the scene is set &#8211; Rowe is Dame / Maid Trott/ Jack&#8217;s mum, who along with Jack himself (Patrick Dineen), Jack&#8217;s sister Simone (Charlotte Rutherfoord) and Jagga the cow (Shen Leng Chow) with the help of Fairy Nuff (Jessica Manu), this merry band must save their Cornish village and defeat evil duo Dame Judi Hench (Susannah Van Den Berg) and Frenchman Harri Co’Vert (Gareth Cooper) who are working with the dastardly Giant Blunderbore (an excellent &#8211; and huge &#8211; puppet managed by Aidan Nightingale) to suffocate the villagers with a cost of living crisis.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="643" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-09015.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_06.12.24-1000x643.jpg" alt="HALL FOR CORNWALL, TRURO, ENGLAND - December 6th 2024 : HFC Playhouse Productions “Jack and The Beanstalk”, first night performance, photographed by HfC photographer in residence Hugh Hastings." class="wp-image-35691" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-09015.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_06.12.24-1000x643.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-09015.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_06.12.24-800x514.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-09015.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_06.12.24-768x494.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-09015.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_06.12.24.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



I think Jack et al are also trying to rescue Jack&#8217;s best friend Jill (Freya Karlettis) and her Kernow childhood pals who have been coerced by the giant to work for him as cloud labour, but with all the joyous innuendo, a goose (Colin Leggo) that thought he was in Top Gun, and much audience participation it became a little unclear. Anyway, you&#8217;re not there for the plot, are you, at times somewhat shoehorned in around all the usual panto bits. What you&#8217;re there for are the chances to boo (many), join in with some dubious local songs, and laugh along (a lot) &#8211; just avert your eyes from some of the more adult humour that will hopefully go right over your kids heads.



So after selling the cow to make ends meet, and Fairy Nuff making them magical, Act I ends with the introduction, finally, of the impressive prop, the unfurling beanstalk, up which Jack for more cloud based shenanigans that dominate Act II.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-08800.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_04.12.24-1-1000x667.jpg" alt="HALL FOR CORNWALL, TRURO, ENGLAND - December 4th 2024 : HFC Playhouse Productions “Jack and The Beanstalk”, dress rehearsal with invited guests from the RCHT Oncology unit in the audience, photographed by HfC photographer in residence Hugh Hastings." class="wp-image-35688" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-08800.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_04.12.24-1-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-08800.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_04.12.24-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-08800.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_04.12.24-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-08800.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_04.12.24-1.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



As last year, my son&#8217;s favourite part was the joyful and thoroughly Cornish massacre of the&nbsp;12 Days of Christmas where the presence of a lot of physical puns, five toilet rolls and the water pistols used to soak the audience were extremely funny. You&#8217;ll also recognise a lot of the songs which have been woven into the story-telling, and you&#8217;ll be showing off your &#8220;moo-ves like Jagga&#8221; and shouting &#8216;yeah you&#8217; too many times to count.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-09000e.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_06.12.24-1000x667.jpg" alt="HALL FOR CORNWALL, TRURO, ENGLAND - December 6th 2024 : HFC Playhouse Productions “Jack and The Beanstalk”, first night performance, photographed by HfC photographer in residence Hugh Hastings." class="wp-image-35689" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-09000e.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_06.12.24-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-09000e.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_06.12.24-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-09000e.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_06.12.24-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-09000e.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_06.12.24.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



Bonus, this being Hall for Cornwall, which is right in the centre of Truro, we were then able to nip next door for a meal at <a href="https://www.pizzaexpress.com/truro-coinage-hall">PizzaExpress</a>, which made it a lovely and festive night out all round. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-muddy-verdict-nbsp">THE MUDDY VERDICT&nbsp;</h2>



Treasure Island and Peter Pan set expectation right up around the top of Jack&#8217;s beanstalk and the festive fun more than made up for the slightly convoluted plot and occasional random characters. My kids loved it, and we laughed through all two hours of the performance. Edward Rowe was fantastic.



Good for: Everyone and their grandma, including and particularly families after a hit of feel-good festive laughter.



Not for:&nbsp;Booo! If you’re not a fan of musicals, or panto, this isn’t going to be your thing, but I suspect you knew that anyway!



Want to win tickets? <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DDZ0CmOIHJe/">Head over to our Instagram</a> where we&#8217;ve a family ticket (2 adults / 2 children) to giveaway &#8211; valid on either Fri 13th, Thu 19th&nbsp;&amp; Fri 20th&nbsp;(all 7pm).



Jack and the Beanstalk is at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hallforcornwall.co.uk/whats-on/peter-pan/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hall for Cornwall</a>&nbsp;until&nbsp;31 Dec 2024. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="643" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-09024.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_06.12.24-1000x643.jpg" alt="HALL FOR CORNWALL, TRURO, ENGLAND - December 6th 2024 : HFC Playhouse Productions “Jack and The Beanstalk”, first night performance, photographed by HfC photographer in residence Hugh Hastings." class="wp-image-35692" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-09024.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_06.12.24-1000x643.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-09024.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_06.12.24-800x514.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-09024.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_06.12.24-768x494.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/cornwall/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2024/12/Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-December-2024-Muddy-Stilettos-Cornwall-09024.-HFC-Images_Hugh-Hastings_06.12.24.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>

First Look: Jack and the Beanstalk, Hall for Cornwall

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