The Pryordurkins

Posts Tagged ‘berwick kaler’

With two previous pantomime visits behind us where we have gone along to see the annual Berwick Kaler production at York Theatre Royal, we are delighted to have discovered the date when the tickets go on sale for Humpty Dumpty, the 2009/10 pantomime.

Extract from their press release

Humpty sat on a wall then had a fall.   Not much of a plot even by Kaler’s standards – or is it?

Let the team that brought you the acclaimed Dick Turpin stretch your imagination to Herculean proportions with a brand new hilarious version of this classic nursery rhyme.

Will the orphaned Humpty find a mother?   Can he protect the tiny Kingdom of Pantoloon from the evil Eggula? What happens when our Panto Heroes are forced to venture into the real world?

Booking for the panto event The Sunday Times consistently rates one of the top five attractions to see anywhere in the UK during the winter season.

Having had such good times previously, we will hopefully be at the front of the queue for the upcoming tickets!

Oh yea….sorry…..was wanting to hold back…..but the date the tickets go on sale is…….

From March 2nd in person at the box office or from March 3rd online or by phone.

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.

UPDATE:  Tickets go on sale for the 2009/10 Berwick Kaler Pantomime.  More Info Here

January 2008.   Well it had to be done. We went off to Panto last night to see Sinbad the Sailor at the Theatre Royal York. What a surprise it turned out to be. The Times and Gaurdian both recommend it as one of five things everyone in the UK must go and see this winter and we would wholeheartedly agree.  Fantastic throughout.  Great cast, great humour, great production sets, great music, great lighting and a great Theatre.

We arrived early to pick our tickets up and both the box office area and bar were packed full.  We didn’t see many kids around so assumed they must have already taken their seats.  We ordered a couple of drinks at the bar and our round came to less than £6 which for a theatre is very good going indeed.  We headed through into the theatre and the first things we noticed was just how much leg room you actually had.  Our last Theatre experience was in the West End where your knees are normally up against the chair in front.  Here though you could stretch out.  Looking around we couldn’t see many kids and realised that this pantomime clearly had a large following of adults who had been coming back year after year to see the Berwick Kaler pantomime; probably since some where kids themselves.

We realised why as soon as the show started and couldn’t help but smile from the outset.  Professional, fast faced and funny throughout.  We loved it and threw ourselves into the fun from the start.  There were rumours of a plot, but that didn’t get in the way of very topical humour and good old slapstick.

Written by Berwick Kaler, Directed by Berwick Kaler and Damian Cruden, Music by Rob Thorne Jr, Designed by Phil R Daniels and Charles Cusick Smith, Lighting design by Richard G Jones. Starring Berwick Kaler, Martin Barrass, Vincent Gray, Julie-Anna Castro, Sian Howard, Michael Joseph and David Leonard.

We will definitely be booking next year to catch up on the next Berwick Kaler pantomime.  Sinbad the Sailor runs till the 2nd Feb this year, so if you can go see it and remember to pick a Programme up which is sold for only £1!  A steal when compared to the usual £10 price in London.

Score: 5 Stars. Outstanding. Visited January 2008.