Review: Mother Goose at The Bristol Hippodrome
Posted on: 13 Apr 2023"Sir Ian McKellen brings Mother Goose to Bristol"
This version of Mother Goose stars the titan of theatre, stage, and film, Sir Ian McKellen, and he did not disappoint. This story is set in a bankrupt Debenhams store, where the Goose family run an animal sanctuary, yet they are out of money and are about to be evicted. That is until a goose starts laying golden eggs to help with their money troubles.
They make it clear from the start that this will be a regular panto with all the boos, hisses, and “he’s behind you”, but they will be addressing certain issues, such as 10 years of a Tory government. How the crowd cheered at this!
The comic chemistry between McKellen and John Bishop’s stand in Gabriel Fleary was lovely and at times touching, their scenes together leaving the audience roaring with laughter. Gabriel was a welcome replacement and has obvious stage charisma and acting skills. Unfortunately, some of the jokes that were aimed at John Bishop had not been replaced in his absence and this meant they fell a little flat.
The rest of the cast delivers this out-of-season panto with the professionalism, timing, and impromptu humour we come to expect. Adam Brown, The King of Gooseland was a standout star and we wished his part had been in the whole show. Oscar Conlon-Morrey, playing Jack, played a large part in keeping the flow of the entire show going.
Even the smaller roles such as the sanctuary’s animals, which can be kept as ‘bit parts’ in other productions, brought something extra and different to this show. The script and its double-entendres, nod to rudeness and overall japes worked well and were delivered with the timing you would expect of such a stellar cast.
The grand costumes were contemporary, giving the show feel a modern feel and a visual feast for the senses that brought this weird world to life for the audience. The musical performance for the night had to be the character Cilla Quack, played by Anna-Jane Casey. Her musical moment in the second act was a sheer delight. Sharon Ballard, playing the good fairy, Enchanta, also wowed the crowd with her impressive singing voice throughout the show.
Sir Ian McKellen enthralled the audience, and provided great humour by referencing his acting past, having the crowd roaring as he called out a warning to the ‘Orcs’. In the second act, when he delivered his Shakespeare monologue, you could hear a pin drop.
This production of Mother Goose was hilarious and entertaining, bringing the whole audience to its feet at the end. Both adults and children alike seemed to thoroughly enjoy the whole night. Well worth a trip to the theatre to see this production, whether you are a fan of a typical panto or not.
Images: Manuel Harlan
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Alice lives and works in the Bristol area and is the founder of SYUK Development. She enjoys all that Bristol has to offer and regularly contributes to webinars, podcasts and articles on social issues and current affairs.
