Once again, devotees of the Hope Street entertainment temple otherwise known as The Liverpool Everyman, made their pilgrimage to the annual Rock ‘n’ Roll pantomime, this year to enjoy Jack and The Beanstalk. And they weren’t disappointed; in fact they left singing ‘I’m A Believer’ happily content having experienced two hours of panto worship delivered by specialists in their craft.
The audience was a mix of children with brightly illuminated wands, parents, grandparents and cast family relatives ready to enjoy their annual indulgence of panto fun and it was a full house.
True to form, the Everyman production team have taken a well-known fairytale and has spun the story on its head and presented it in a fun, comedic style incorporating music, humour, one-liners and energetic performances with splendid costumes. There are lots of Liverpool colloquialisms included in the script plus mentions of local landmarks with comedic name changes.
Without giving too much of the story away, it basically revolves around hero, Jack (Malek Alkoni) who is on a mission to save Cosmic Crystals, the shop belonging to his mum (Liam Tobin) from going under by climbing the beanstalk to meet the giant and capture the goose that lays the golden eggs. In between this he battles with baddy Alan Sucre (Zoe West) and his sidekick, Roginald (Theo Diedrick). Of course being a panto story there are two fairies involved, Fairy Spacecake (Adam Keast) and Jill (Amy Bastani) who has yet to obtain her wings.
The panto has the musical backing of a five piece band which sometimes becomes more as some of the performers join in with Goose/Daisy/Officer Nimbus (Elaine Hua Jones) and Ruby/Officer Cirrus (Rebecca Levy) dancing whilst playing saxophones on a couple of numbers with the rest of the cast and Fairy Spacecake (Adam Keast) on guitar.
The set is resplendent with bright colours and twinkling lights with the band sited on a platform above the stage and there are many ins and outs of the cast and props through a curtained doorway and using the steps either side of the stage. The theatre provides a very intimate atmosphere with the actors on stage because of the seating being so close to the stage and the actors made full use of the stairways either side of the seating, running up and down each during the performance. Many popular songs were included in the show and were delivered with enthusiasm by the full cast and songstresses, Amy Bastani and Rebecca Levy, both have terrific vocal talent.
Standout performances for me were Zoe West as bad boy Alan Sucre and ‘Dame Vera’, Liam Tobin. Both gave excellent performances. Adam Keast (Fairy Spacecake), a renowned Everyman panto trouper excelled as usual, his cheeky grin and clever one-liners and adlibs are always brilliant, and he is excellent at interactive theatre delivering humorous asides to the audience and seamlessly blending the scenes together. He is also expert at drawing the audience into the panto plots and getting them involved either with singing, clapping or full on integration into the theatrical production. But no spoilers here, you will have to go along and experience it for yourself. But praise indeed to all those taking part who are multi-talented actors and fantastic musicians who can interchange from one ability to the next at the drop of a hat. Each actor contributed to the production with energy, enthusiasm and artistic ability par excellence. It is a musical romp with actor-musicians, rock 'n' roll music, funny interludes, and colourful costumes, consistent with the Everyman's usual well-loved panto style. It blends a family-friendly fairy tale into a musical concert suitable for all ages.
A big round of applause goes to Writer, Chloë Moss, Director, Kash Arshad, Set and Costume Designer, Katie Scott, Arranger and Musical Supervisor, Jamie Noar, Musical Director, Henry Brennan, Choreographer, Rebecca Levy and Lighting Designer, Charly Dunford who have all done an excellent job at pulling together a panto which once up and running, gives everyone the feeling that Christmas is just around the corner.
This is a perfect night out for the lead-up to the Christmas festivities.
The Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto 2025: Jack and the Beanstalk runs until 17th January 2026 at Liverpool Everyman. Tickets from https://everymanplayhouse.com/event/the-rock-n-roll-panto-2025-jack-and-the-beanstalk/
Reviewer – Anne Pritchard
On – 20.11.2025
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