Nottingham Playhouse to bring audiences ‘giant’ fun in annual Christmas pantomime Jack and The Beanstalk

A timeless story of giants, golden eggs, and some mysterious beans is set to sprout on stage this Christmas, for the much-loved Playhouse panto.

Nottingham Playhouse will this year present Jack and The Beanstalk as its annual festive pantomime, with heaps of fun, dazzling costumes, and lots of laughter promised.

The show will welcome back many familiar faces from the theatre’s previous side-splitting pantos — including the venue’s iconic dame John Elkington as Dame Daisy Trott, and last year’s award-winning panto star Jewelle Hutchinson.

It will follow the story of hapless Jack, who exchanges the family cow for a handful of mysterious beans, brought to life in a glittering extravaganza of humour, top tunes, and audience participation.

Audiences will join Jack as he bravely climbs the beanstalk to discover a land above the clouds, where a ferocious giant lurks in his castle — but will Jack outwit the giant and leave with the magic harp the giant stole from his father?

Can he bag the golden egg-laying goose that will change his family’s fortunes forever?

Adam Penford, artistic director at Nottingham Playhouse and writer and director of Jack and the Beanstalk, said: “Nottingham Playhouse has been proudly making a pantomime every year for over three decades. Created by our talented team of craftspeople in Nottingham, for the people of Nottingham. It's a joy to welcome back so many local professional actors, alongside the talented young chorus, drawn from communities across the region.

“With the wonderful John Elkington as our dame, Jack and the Beanstalk offers a crazy adventure with larger-than-life characters, lots of fun and fabulous music, an underdog hero — and a loveable cow. This year, we also celebrate musical director John Morton’s 35th anniversary of panto at Nottingham Playhouse.”

Jack is played by Finton Flynn (Kinky Boots the Musical in Concert, Footloose, South Pacific, and as Russ Gray in Coronation Street.), alongside Tom Hopcroft as Fleshcreep, Bradley Judge as Silly Billy, Caroline Parker as Fairy Godmother and Alice Redmond as Pat the Cow.

Fourteen Nottinghamshire youngsters will also appear in the show as the Youth Chorus, playing many farmyard characters, from scarecrows to chickens, and assisting Fleshcreep with his mischievous plans.

They are Lola-Mae Brown, Alexander Bunka, Louis Gillespie, Nathan Hayward, Mia Jacks, Nevaeh Jouhal, William Kent, Matilda Lamb, Amiya Maxwell, Anna Nguyen, Gracie Nkala, Isabella Oguagwu, Malikea Smith and Lois Westwick.

Jack and the Beanstalk, sponsored by Nottingham City Transport, runs from November 29, 2024, to January 18, 2025, and tickets are already on sale.