January 11th, 2009
UPDATE: Tickets go on sale for the 2009/10 Berwick Kaler Pantomime. More Info Here
If consistency is a sign of quality then Berwick Kaler has it all. Following our first visit to the pantomime at York Theatre Royal last year where we saw Sinbad the sailor (read our review) we returned with much anticipation this year accompanied by my Sister, Brother in law and kids from Cambridgeshire. Arriving at the theatre at around 7pm last night the place was packed to the rafters. The bar and cafe areas on all floors were full of eager punters like us who are now hooked on the Berwick Kaler York Theatre Royal pantomime experience. Celebrating his 30th year the show included many an actor who have themselves been coming back year after to year to play at York. David Leonard who we last saw starring in a Man for all Seasons, has now notched up 21 years as the baddie! Martin Barrass celebrates 23 years playing the fool and Suzy Cooper has 14 previous appearances under her belt. The upcoming Vincent Gray, who is very pleasant on the eye remarked during the show that he would like to return to York year after year after year.
Anyway, the show started and with the now familiar style, we were hooked from the outset. You simply can not stop yourself from having a smile on your face from the moment the curtain goes up until well after you get home following the show. There is little by the way of plot, but this only adds to the fun which you might think is all chaotic and made up on the spot, but is in fact very well rehearsed and outstandingly professional. The actors and I use that word, because they are true to their art, play their parts extremely well indeed. You could easily be forgiven for thinking these people are for real. They link with the audience with ease and Berwick Kaler seems to have a knack for gripping the attention of everyone in the house. His Amy Winehouse sketch met with rapturous applause and calls for more… more. David Leonard plays the role of baddie as mentioned before but pulls it off in such a way, that he must be one of the most loved baddies every portrayed on stage. He seems to have the crowd in the palm of his hands whenever he is on stage. Which is quite a lot as he humorously remarked in a throw away comment. Suzy Cooper who slowly turns into that well known Dick Turpin character of a bat! is a real class act. Her demeanour and her voice are so versatile that along with Berwick Kaler and David Leonard, she would hold the stage as her own.
The show ended a stroke after 10.00pm and with two and half hours of professionally produced and acted mayhem loosely coupled around the legend of Dick Turpin, we were once again delighted to have joined many a regular fan of York Theatre Royal pantomime for a great nights entertainment. The kids even managed to get the heavily sort after Waggon Wheel, who the Gaurdian reviewer (read it here) has been trying to get himself for a many a year gone past. The kids must just be plain lucky.
If you haven’t seen it yet, it runs to the end of January 09, but to be honest the likelihood of getting a ticket now is slim. These shows have been sold out for weeks if not months.
Pryordurkin rating 5 stars.
Posted in Arts and Entertainment
As a Southerner, lured in by the reviews in The Guardian and The Stage, I ended a chilly day in York with a visit to what is obviously a local institution. I agree wholeheartedly with your comments – a lovely traditional panto, just like the old days. “Have you got the scrolls …”