Perth Theatre has made a festive name for itself over the years with its traditional panto played out in the perfect setting of its beautiful Edwardian auditorium. A more recent tradition is to have Barrie Hunter write, direct and play the Dame and he does not disappoint this year.
A traditional panto played out in the perfect setting of its beautiful Edwardian auditorium
There are all the much-loved elements of panto with some modern tweaks and contemporary jokes too; the first inheritance tax gag of the season for me. On the serious side, there’s also a wee reminder to treat our livestock well and not cage it up.
Mother Goose is one of the earliest pantos, first staged in these shores two hundred years ago. It still provides a rich source of humour with its tale of the goose which lays the golden eggs. Who would have thought there could be so many egg-based puns?
It's always fun to see a theatre’s take on the tale in which the greedy get their come-uppance. Here, it all begins with Mother Goose's final day as manager of McGregory's Eggery and she's looking forward to retiring (with pension and cottage) after many happy years' loyal service.
But no, it cannot be, the new owner is one Greta Garbage, the evil asset stripper who wants to stop free-range geese and cage them along with any humans who get in the way of her evil machinations as she destroys Mother Goose’s retirement plan.
Poor Mother `Gabi’ Goose is forced out with her son Grayson and Gloria the goose. Greta puts the formerly free-range geese into cages and also incarcerates their would-be rescuers. This does allow for a rather nice new version of the Cell Block Tango from musical Chicago.
Barrie Hunter’s Mother Goose keeps things bowling along while Helen Logan embraces baddie Greta Garbage with glee, insulting the audience at every turn while trying to do down the Goose family.
There’s the delight of a live three-piece band (Linda Stewart, Daniel Fairley and Iona Crosby) keeping those tunes coming including the all-important `bring doon the clout’ contest when half the audience tries to out-sing the other. Yes, all the traditional panto faves are there.
The sense of community is to the fore with local young people joining the cast, to act, sing and dance and rescue the Goose family as their distant cousins, the Wild Geese.
