"Jack and the Beanstalk" by Ben Crocker (5-8 Dec 2018)

Poster

I love Pantomime, especially the type of Panto that we bring you from St. Michael's Players. Essentially it is a local entertainment, strictly amateur, with no stars and no egos (well not many). It is a truly group production, with all the necessary bits and pieces that make Panto special. We have a vicious villain, a friendly fairy, a bold and brave principal boy, a feisty princess with a bumbling father and an even more bumbling flunkey, a wickedly attractive dame with a simple side-kick, a cow and a giant, and a bag of beans which grow into an impressive beanstalk right in the middle of the stage!! Along the way there are songs and dances, villagers and monsters, good jokes and bad jokes, chases and singalongs, magic and the inevitable triumph of good over evil. We have everything you need for a rousing start to the Christmas festivities. We hope you enjoy the production as much as we enjoy bringing it to you

What they said
​"Really great...well done. Say congratulations to all " Charlie M
​"Absolutely loved it ... George you were a star" Valerie D
"The hottest show in town is back and what an opening night. Full of energy and lots and lots of fun. The cast looked like they were enjoying themselves and so did we. I'm still a little hoarse from booing, hissing and singing very loudly! Great script, great set, great band and a fabulous cast. A special mention for Daisy though - what a performance. Loved the dancing. And Chris, fantastic to see you back on stage - being bad! Tickets are like gold dust so if I were you, I'd go and queue and hope for a return. Don't miss it." Moira R
"I loved it too! It was lots of fun and brilliantly performed with the odd missed line ad libbed to perfection. Mega congrats to all the cast. I’m still smiling" David 
"Hear hear. Well done Elizabeth and company - marvelous show. My favourite bit was Dame Trot's wardrobe malfunction. Made me laugh like a 6 year old again! Loved all the music and the participation too. Such a shame a panto is only for Christmas!" Joy X
"We both really enjoyed the panto last night. R can be a bit curmudgeonly re pantos, but he was impressed.  It was much more ‘pro’ than ‘am’ dram.  The costumes were clever especially the monsters and a good choice of songs. So well done all round!!" Isobel W
"Brilliant panto! Thoroughly enjoyed it. You play an excellent baddie and the music was spot on. I'll be back next year" Gemma M
"Congratulations to all the cast of Jack and the Beanstalk and the many, many crew and unseen heroes working behind the scenes to make it a panto to remember. Don't like to single people out but......the costumes were wonderful. Love to you all from Simple Simon's chief heckler! 🎭🎸🎹" Gerry W
"What a great show. We laughed from beginning to end. Particular congratulations to Adrian. He was hilarious! And not forgetting that wicked Slimeball!" Robin E
"Brilliant show Folks!xxxx" Stella H
“Isabella and I have went to the best 'Panto' EVER last night by #stmichaelsplayers ... how imaginative, energetic, fun-filled and extremely well scripted piece it was. I praise everyone immensely... what an amazing bunch of people you all are. We had an absolute blast xxx” Sue
"Great show really enjoyed it" Martin H
"Saw the Friday night show and LOVED it! Congratulations to everyone involved for a superb and wonderfully energetic evening of great Christmas entertainment. Simple Simon has the best legs in Chiswick!" Vivian S
"Best panto I remember going to! I laughed the whole way through" Amelia B
"Really enjoyed the show. You make an excellent baddie. Your makeup was very good. My cheeks hurt from laughing and smiling the whole way through" Clive H
"Encore!!" Dino M
"It was such an evening... A panache of all" Mati W
"Excellent actors and really enjoyed it yesterday! Very moving and you all really made us feel part of the great story. Thank you!" Puran B
"Terrific fun. Well done all" Karen G
"Great fun-really enjoyed it" Gina M
"Certainly was a triumph, so enjoyed by many. Thanks guys" Janet L
"We all enjoyed it enormously and still have flashbacks of you in that incredible suit!!" Sheila C
"Just a note to say how much Freddie (7) and I enjoyed the panto yesterday afternoon. As rightly predicted, it was a cracker, and everyone involved seemed to be having a lot of of fun!" Diane H
"Another fantastic panto. It just gets better each year. Well done 😊" Liz W
"Such a shame we live so far away to enjoy your shows, you are a remarkable band who never fail to put on a great show. So congratulations all round. 💖🎅xxx" David D" David D
"Yes a first for my three 'young ones and they' felt quite at home and wanted more ... Poppy keeps on about Paul's hairy chest really thought he was a woman until he revealed that (spoiler alert) .. So very well done SMP ahh the magic of the stage and panto where you can have fun without upsetting anyone" Rose P
"Great show. Loved it. You were excellent xx" Sue H
"Brilliant panto. Thank you so much. It was a fabulously fun start to Christmas celebrations...oh yes it was" Martine O
"What a great show. We loved it. Congrats to you all!" Robin E
"loved the Panto" Rob M
"​Thank you very much for an amazing panto. It really was very good and I thought actors kept us hooked" Puran B
"It was great fun and defo the best you have done I think" Neil C
"You were terrific in the pantomime yesterday – a fabulous performance – and I loved the short dungarees and your onesee!! It was a real bonus to have a live band – I wasn’t expecting that at all – and I really enjoyed it.
A great afternoon!"
Lindsay S
"Well done on the panto. We enjoyed it and had many laughs although I thought the Bar Ladies were the best" Simon H

Programme
programme_jack_beanstalk.pdf
File Size: 149 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

The Show

Photos

Cast

Edena (Tessa Dunn)
​Slimeball (Chris Hulatt)
Jack Trot (Georgina Parren)
Princess Demelza (Flora Barker)
King Bertram (George Atkinson)
Flunkit (Adrian Ellis)
Dame Trot (Paul Smith)
Simple Simon (Guy Fairbank)
Daisy the Cow (Leonia Chesterfield & Jo Harry)
Giant Blunderbore (Mervyn Jupe)
Chorus (Sue Darrieulat, Christine Lee, Maddy Hazard, Elizabeth Ollier, Utku Er, Pihu Dube, Rosie Copping, Arabella Burles, David Burles, Neil Dickins)

Band

​Musical Director, Keyboards (Nick Lawrence)
Guitar (Andy Murray, Harry Doyle)
Bass (Ian Trowbridge)
Drums (Martin Scott, Josh Derby)

Crew

​Director (Jane Atkinson)
Assistant Director/Producer (Bryony Wilman)
Production Designer (Marc Pearce)
Stage Manager (Malcolm O’Neill)
Backstage (Stuart Campbell, Chris Pease)
Props (Claire Richmond)
Costumes (Bryony Wilman, Sue Darrieulat, Jane Atkinson)
Choreography (Jane Atkinson, Rosie Copping, Paul Tompkinson, Maia Schlesinger)
Set (Utku Er, Malcolm O’Neill, Stuart Campbell)
Make-up (Teena Heer, Rosie Copping)
Social Media and Publicity (Fleur de Henrie Pearce)
Front of House (Members and Friends of St Michael’s Players)