The Hawth panto is simply legendary, and it just gets bigger and better every year - review

Every year – and I have been watching the Crawley theatre’s festive efforts for a few years now – they just seem to up the stakes in terms of production, laughs and quality. And once again – and I don’t think I will ever get bored of writing this – the Hawth and Evolution Productions have done it again.

It’s got everything you want from panto - a lot of silly fun, on-point music, jokes for all ages, fantastic dance routines, outrageous costumes, audience interaction, the pun-filled wheelbarrow, the legendary Hawth bench and a fat bloke in a dress. And a new addition this year was an audience cam before the show started – which added a lot of fun (and nervousness) for the audience.

This year’s show is Jack and the Beanstalk starring EastEnders legend Steve McFadden as Fleshcreep. He joins Crawley favourite Michael J Batchelor, who has returned for his 11th year as Crawley's favourite dame.

Joining cast are Joey Wilby (Billy), Erin Armstrong (Jess), Joe Gash (Jack Trott) and Annell Odartey (Faiy Sugarsnap) – and every single member of the cast puts in a pitch-perfect performance.

McFadden is having great fun as Phil Mit….oops, sorry...Fleshcreep. He chewed up so much scenery I was surprised to see him eating a sandwich or two after the show reception! And seeing him go in disguise as Helga was truly surreal but thoroughly entertaining.

Wilby as the comedy character Billy is a joy as the boy band member-wannabe and almost steals the whole show with his giant pea. My 15-year-old son was off his chair laughing. Yes, it is THAT funny and has to be seen to be believed.

One thing my wife noticed is how empowering the Evolution shows are for women and Armstrong was perfect for the role of the hero Jess. She was strong, funny, incredibly likeable and made the character such a good role model.

Her partner in crime was Gash as Jack Trott. Regular Hawth goers will have recognised him from Rock of Ages in recent years. He has an incredible voice and his rendition of Out Here (from the underrated Disney classic The Hunchback of Notre Dame) was of such quality, I thought I had been transported to West End for a few minutes. Astonishingly good.

Odartey, as the vegetable fairy, was funny and loveable and delivered such a good Wicked moment, most of the audience thought Cynthia Erivo had arrived at the Hawth.

But as always, the scene stealer was Crawley favourite Batchelor as Dame Trott. If anyone told me there was a better panto Dame on the circuit, I simply wouldn’t believe them. Like the show itself, he just gets better and better (and that’s no coincidence) and his part seems to get bigger (sorry, couldn’t resist a bit of panto innuendo) every year – and it’s all the better for it.

His comic timing, singing (when hitting the right notes!) and costumes are all incredible. This year’s costumes reached another level again with the vegetable garden and Elton John ones my particular favourites.

But it’s not just the cast and characters that make the Hawth panto what it is.

The script – written by Paul Hendy – is as funny and rich as ever and it really does have it’s finger on the topical pulse with Wicked, Nigel Farage and Gary Barlow’s massive son all getting a mention.

The music selection, and performance (musical director is ‘Auntie’ Emma Fraser), is so good, with the medley of Hamilton, Eminem, Wicked and ELO before the interval mind-blowingly good.

The comedy set pieces were great – the aforementioned giant pea, the bench, the wheelbarrow, Dame Trott’s dog act (where Batchelor shows some great athleticism) and the weather machine were all crowd-pleasers

Combine all those things together and you have another unbelievably good festive show.

The word ‘legendary’ is used a few times throughout the panto and it seems like a fitting way to finish this review - The Hawth panto is simply legendary.

DETAILS

ACCESS PERFORMANCES

Relaxed Performance: Sun 15 December 10.30am Audio Described Performance: Sat 21 December 2pm BSL Interpreted Performance: Sun 22 December 2pm Captioned Performance: Sun 22 December 2pm

Jack and the Beanstalk is on until January 5 – visit https://www.parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/the-hawth/whats-on/jack-and-the-beanstalk for more information.

Proudly sponsored by County Mall.

Duration: approx 2 hours 25 minutes (including a 20 minute interval)