It is gala night at the Cambridge Arts Theatre for the yearly panto, the show that runs for five weeks and helps to fund the artistic programme for the rest of the year. This year, it is the turn of the slightly odd Mother Goose that acts as an allegory for the ‘be careful what you wish for’ or ‘money and fame doesn’t buy you everything’ moral. Who would have thought that panto could have so much depth?
Despite the aforementioned strange synopsis, this is a wonderful show, full of great warmth and some genuinely funny lines alongside the Christmas cracker jokes. The first masterstroke is to set the story in Cambridge, with Al Lockhart-Morley's script and the additional material from director Michael Gattrell and Dame Matt Crosby, definitely making this feel like a show that understands its Cambridge audience. Ian Westbrook’s painted backdrops also include views of King's College and local shopping streets, which truly frame this in a Cambridge setting.
The energy and commitment from the cast is wonderful throughout the performance. This doesn’t feel like an especially ‘Christmassy’ show (except for the obligatory "Five Days of Christmas" song), yet this doesn’t really matter. It is the comedy that really works in this performance. It manages to have that wonderful ability to include jokes aimed at the adults that go over the heads of the young and yet have children rolling in the aisles with laughter. The slippery baking scene with Matt Crosby as the Dame, Gertie Goose, and her son Sammy Goose, played by Steven Roberts, is a masterful display of slapstick and clowning which delights the audience.
There are some stand-out performances. Pippa Duffy is excellent as the evil Demon Vanity, with a terrific vocal performance, gravelly and full of vitriol. Duffy interacts beautifully with the audience and seems to really revel in the opportunity to throw insults at the ‘good' characters. The aforementioned Crosby and Roberts make a terrific comedy double-act, and their interactions with the audience during the obligatory game show interview scene are warm and witty.
The pop-style music is fun and the songs are delivered with great aplomb with a committed ensemble and upbeat, lively band. A special mention for Charlotte Wakefield as Fairy Virtue for a brilliant vocal performance, with each song belted with faultless accuracy.
I cannot recommend this panto highly enough. It will bring you great warmth and cheer as the weather begins to become chilly. A visit to the Cambridge Arts will be supporting the theatre’s programme all year long, as well as offering an opportunity to help them with their own charity, Panto Wheels, which offers free trips to the theatre for disadvantaged and disabled children.
A fun and uplifting night at the theatre awaits for the many Cambridge families until 7 January 2024.