The princess and the peals of laughter
Edinburgh Pantomime: The Princess and the Goblin - Royal Lyceum Theatre until December 28
By Mark Brown for The sunday Herald


The classy Stuart Paterson Christmas show has become a Scottish theatrical certainty, as reliable as the rain-soaked yuletide shopping trip to Princes Street. This year’s offering for the Lyceum – an adaptation of one of the lesser-known children’s stories – has to be one of his best.

The dubious talents of TV populists whose careers have been stymied by the death of the music hall are not for the Lyceum. If you are looking for a one-size-fits-all, big budget panto with 40-year-old gags and real ponies, you will have to go elsewhere.

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Gallus fun? Oh yes it is
Glasgow Pantomime: Pinocchio - Pavilion until January 31
Cinderella - Tron Theatre until January 3
By Graeme Virtue for The Sunday Herald


The Pavilion panto recipe goes something like this: take The Krankies and crack them into the middle of an experienced panto cast. Then filter a Disney plot through a Glasgow gallus-o-tron, fold in a few incongruous musical numbers featuring current pop hits and sprinkle in skilled dancers, dazzling laser lights and a fluorescent dumbshow.

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<small>[ 10 December 2003, 04:56 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

Jack and the Beanstalk, King’s Theatre, Edinburgh
By MARY BRENNAN for The Herald


EVEN before we've met any of the tartan-bedecked folk who live in Lochforest, we know this Beanstalk has its roots in Scotland. The Giant has spilled the beans, as it were. His booming fe-fo-fumming has declared a taste for Scotsmen.

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Aladdin, Paisley Arts Centre
By MARY BRENNAN for The Herald


"Off-the wall – and frequently off-the-book. That's what make PACE pantos different and special," said Ofpants, the panto

watchdog, as the curtain fell and we reluctantly accepted that this fun-filled Aladdin was at an end.

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Cinders burns bright
More pantomime reviews by Joyce McMillan for The Scotsman

Jack and the Beanstalk ***
KING’S THEATRE, EDINBURGH

The Princess and the Goblin ****
ROYAL LYCEUM THEATRE, EDINBURGH

Cinderella ****
TRON, GLASGOW

Once upon a time not so long ago, in an elegant northern city, there was a beautiful Edwardian theatre that used to design, create and build its own pantomimes. But a frosty financial wind blew and everything changed, so that today, the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh - for it is she - has to buy in her pantos from big production companies down south, with only the cast left to give the show the local flavour on which the life of a panto depends.

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Jack and the Beanstalk, Eden Court, Inverness
By MARY BRENNAN for The Herald


"Maybe it was the thought of working with a hungry Giant that did it," murmured Ofpants. "I mean – what's the Equity rate for being snacked on, in rehearsals?" The old watchdog has noted the number of new names appearing in the Eden Court panto after a team of regulars have built up a chucklesome relationship with audiences.

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It might lack polish but show still shines
By THOM DIBDIN for The Scotsman

ENTHUSIASM, energy and some gorgeous singing more than make up for any shortcomings of this year’s Family Pantomime by Edinburgh People’s Theatre.

The enthusiasm comes from Rik Kay and Stuart Mitchell as the Ugly Sisters, and Stuart McEwan as Buttons. They might not be as polished as the professionals who make these parts their own. But they are more than ready to have a go.

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Delightful Daisy pulls it off – but is she milking it?
Panto: Jack and the Beanstalk - Eden Court, Inverness until January 10
By Angela Cran for The Herald:


Maybe it was my sore back. Maybe it was because I was on my own (sob). Maybe it’s unfair to compare pantos year on year. But it’s fair to say I came away slightly less wowed by TEAM’s production of Jack And The Beanstalk than I was by their Sleeping Beauty last Christmas.

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[b[Sleeping Beauty[/b]
by Robert Dawson Scott for The Times


IT’S not so much a show, the panto at the King’s, Glasgow, more a reunion. Audiences return year after year to renew their acquaintance not just with the cast but with some of the routines and the jokes as well, not forgetting bringing “doon the clout” for the community song at the end.

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