Let’s get one thing clear at the start of this season of festive frolics: panto is not easy, no matter what the naysayers would have us believe. It requires a unique combination of elements from its performers, not least the confidence to ad-lib happily when the moment demands. What it least necessitates, however, is a joyless feeling that all involved are merely going through the motions.
The Lyric, now well established as one of the prime purveyors of premium panto in London, gets a lot right. Not everything, though: the slop scene, which should be a high point, is carried out as if by rote, with no giddying sense of escalating mayhem.
But there’s a lot to admire in Ellen McDougall’s lively production, not least the fact that it comes with generous helpings of glitter and sparkle — a panto necessity.
Tom Wells offers his usual intelligent script, complete with a rich undercurrent of double entendres to keep the grown-ups happy when they don’t manage to catch any of the flying sweets.
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Sara Crowe, as wicked stepmother Madame Woo, gives a masterclass in panto acting: ebullient, ever-so-slightly over the top but fully committed to the role, despite a “panto injury” that saw her temporarily confined to an “evil wheelchair”.
The young leads, Krystal Dockery and Karl Queensborough, make an appealing, soon-to-be royal pairing, and stepsisters Booty (Matt Sutton) and Licious (Peter Caulfield) are as uncouth as we could want. The Lyric is on to a winner. Oh yes it is.
Until January 3, Lyric Hammersmith (020 8741 6850, lyric.co.uk)
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