Shropshire Star

Mother Goose an eggs-cellent watch as panto season hits full swing - review with pictures

Mother Goose at Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury is among the hottest tickets in town as the panto season gets into full swing.

Published
Matt Dallen as Billy Goose and Victoria McCabe as Jill Goose

With lots of cheesy jokes, audience participation and an amazing 3D scene the show produced by Evolution came up trumps at its opening performance.

It stars the very funny panto dame Brad Fitt, as Mother Goose, BBC Shropshire presenter Eric Smith as Squire Squashem, Matt Daines as villain Demon Vanity, Matt Dallen as Billy Goose, and Victoria McCabe as Jill Goose.

Fairy Goodfeather understudy Rosie Revell very ably stood in at the last minute for Lisa Davina Phillip, who theatre bosses said missed the show due to personal reasons.

Rosie had to read her lines, but to be honest that didn't take any of the shine from the production. It is a storybook tale after all.

The slapstick comedy take on the classic fairytale saw the mainly young audience squeal with delight at an amazing 3D scene featuring the theme song from the hit movie .

Victoria McCabe as Jill Goose

Ghostbusters, along with apparitions and spiders. The audience was given 3D glasses just for that one scene and it was well worth the experience.

The actors did a fabulous job working the audience and there were a number of amusing Telford panto jibes laying bare local theatre rivalry.

Almost 500 schoolchildren form Morda CE Primary and Telford's Ladygrove Primary, in Old Office Road, Dawley, were among the first to see this year's show and they seemed to love every minute of it despite many of the carefully crafted jokes going straight over their heads.

They loved the music and dancing and raised the roof for The Greatest Showman hit song This is Me.

Morda pupil Imogen Hughes, aged 11, sums up the show: "I liked the 3D part because it was really funny as a big hand popped out towards me. And I did like the Spanish dancing too, it was excellent."

The cast also included young dancers who successfully auditioned for roles in the show. Some were cheered on by proud relatives.

Among them was Lois Donaway, 10, of Caersws in Mid-Wales, whose mother Nikki Grainger and sister Fearne, 19 months came to see her perform.

Matt Dallen as Billy Goose, and Victoria McCabe as Jill Goose

Also in the audience were 35 members and volunteers from Coton Hill's Good Companions which is affiliated with Mencap. They attend the panto every year thanks to the efforts of volunteer Miriam Hulme, who has been organising their trips for 40 years.

All in all it was a brilliant afternoon and everyone left the Theatre Severn smiling.

Mother Goose is running until January 6. Tickets range from £15 to £25.50 with some concessions and discounts available.

More details are on www.theatresevern.co.uk/shows/whatson/mother-goose ot phone the box office on 01743 281281.