‘Sir Lewis Casson was absolutely right – pantomime is the National Theatre of Scotland. Pantomime was always very close to my heart and I loved it from a very early age. It was a joy to be involved in pantomime for so much of my career.’
Stanley Baxter, (1926 – 2025)
In 1951, Stanley Baxter’s first pantomime at the King’s Theatre was Aladdin playing the role of Wishee Washee - with his brilliant Scots patter, he totally stole the show. A legendary King of Panto and comic genius, he entertained Edinburgh audiences for over 20 years: ‘All the glitter, glamour, gaiety and fun, Baxter is one of the best Dames in the business.’
Baxter’s legacy continues today with the stalwart cast of Allan Stewart, Grant Stott and Jordan Young who are back again at the Festival Theatre for another Christmas cracker of a show. First published in 1734 as ‘The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean,’ it was retold as ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ in English Fairy Tales, (1890).
‘A long long time ago, when most of the world was young and folk did what they liked because all things were good, there lived a boy called Jack’.
Jack is forced to sell the family's last cow in exchange for a handful of magic beans rather than 20 gold sovereigns. His furious mother throws the beans out the window but overnight they grow into an enormous beanstalk that reaches the sky. Jack climbs up to discover a Giant's castle in the clouds, where he is greeted with the terrifying chant, ‘Fee-fi-fo-fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman! Be he alive, or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread.’
There’s something faintly defiant about this lavish farewell with such a grand, glittering, glossy London Palladium set, before the Panto returns to the refurbished King’s Theatre next Christmas.
Grant Stott always plays the nasty villain – Captain Hook or Wicked Stepmother - whose every entrance from stage left (sinister), is greeted with a barrage of loud hissing boos. However, as Fleshcreep, the Giant’s rather ineffectual henchman, there’s little opportunity to taunt his menacing manner or dastardly deeds. Here, the real baddie is the evil Ogre, who only appears fleetingly as an illuminated, robotic puppet figure.
Thriving on audience complicity, cackling with his signature throaty laugh, Stott mines familiar routines and Hibee banter with cool confidence – he knows precisely how far to push a joke. Dame May McTrot (Auntie May) is portrayed, as always, with gaudy style and exuberant energy by Allan Stewart, gracefully prancing and parading about in fairly high heels. His performance is immaculate, whether riffing through a musical number or milking a throwaway line for maximum return. While a smattering of bawdy jokes are part of panto lingo, May’s flirtation with the truly risqué is, at times, rather explicit for the wee ones.
Jordan Young plays the brisk and boyish Jack, a gullible stooge for Stewart and Stott’s sharp humour, and his charismatic Hiya Pals catchphrase quickly engages the children who respond with glee.
The Spirit of the Beans adds fairyland sparkle yet takes the narrative off at a tangent by staging a cabaret show of songs and high kicking Tiller Girls. As well as her fine vocals, Clare Gray as Pat the Cow, dances daintily in heavy hooves while Princess Jill is refreshingly unburdened by romantic obligation, her role more functional than fully developed.
Director Ed Curtis keeps the focus squarely on momentum, trusting the value of quality entertainment over coherent plot. That trust is largely rewarded: foot tapping, pop music medleys galore while the local flavoured humour is baked in rather than pasted on as an after thought. Having performed together in countless pantos over the decades, Stewart and Stott share such a smoothly polished sense of camaraderie, with off-script ad-libbing and infectiously comical, often corpsing, repartee.
When the towering beanstalk is finally unveiled, the audience is spellbound at the awesome, fantastical scene – pure magic indeed and worth the ticket price alone.
The Giant looms impressively from the back of the stage, but only briefly; peril is introduced, then dispatched with speed. His famous Shakespearian line, Fee, fi, fo, fum is casually uttered but the chilling riddle is curiously edited out, 'Be he alive, or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread.’
Taking the poetic bones out of classic literature is shameful – we need to preserve text and tradition for the next generation of theatre goers. And sadly, as we race towards the finale, there’s no dramatic denouement or fairy tale ending.
And that points to the production’s one real limitation. The storyline exists largely as a vehicle to drive along the songs, gags and spectacle for good old feisty, Festive fun for all the family. The six piece orchestra provides a Big Band sound, ensuring the choreographic beat and musical score flows along with rhythmic pace.
In an hilarious scene Dame May (her boobs bouncing with every step!), runs between Jack and Fleshcreep reciting an ever-expanding tongue twister of a message. Slick sketches and impersonations too, from Claudia W in Traitors mode (crisp) to the bewigged Proclaimer twins (cringe).
What emerges is more of a lavish Christmas variety act, crafted around the slim skeleton of the folktale, offering extravagant, full throttle theatricality, geared towards laughter first and narrative, second.
As a final Festival Theatre outing, however, it’s bold and brash, designed to send us home smiling rather than pondering plot logic. Jack and the Beanstalk may not climb very far in storytelling terms, but as a crowd-pleasing, jolly, joyful giant of a show, this panto scales the heights it sets out to reach.
Showtimes:
Saturday, 13 December 2025 – Sunday, 11 January 2026.
Matinee and evening performances, 2pm and 7pm.
Ticket prices from £29.00 - groups, families, concessions.
Discounts, 20% off on certain December dates. 2-for-1 Monday 5th January
Accessible Shows: Relaxed performance (Jan 9), Touch Tours (Dec 19, 20), Audio Described & BSL (Dec 19, 20, 31)
https://www.capitaltheatres.com/shows/panto-2025-jack-and-the-beanstalk/