BASILDON Towngate Theatre's Christmas pantomime has accrued a reputation over the years of being a class act.

Definitely not your average panto but one with an eye on the West End and high production values.

And the eye was largely that of Towngate legend Simon Fielding, either as star performer, director - or both.

For reasons unknown (I sense there's something behind it!), he's no longer involved and perhaps, as a consequence, this year's production falls between two stools.

It's a very enjoyable show and an undoubted success - just one look at the excited faces of the youngsters tells you that. And the show promo says ticket sales are beating all previous Box Office records, so what do I know?

Its purpose is to bring young and old together and knit them into a memorable night of fun, frivolity and laughter - and Jack does that all right, but for me there was something missing.

I think that's largely down to an average script and at times the cast struggled to inject life into it.

The technical excellence you expect at the Towngate was there - even down to adding in a drone to capture and highlight members of the audience on a new drop down screen that also played its part in catching up with bits of the plot.

But, for once, I'd be struggling to put the word spectacular in there. There are certainly no big technical moments. Fans may well say I'm probably being far too picky.

Ian Hallard is back at the Towngate for a fourth time and boy did he put in a shift! Multiple costume changes - including one after getting soaked - and he hit the audience with gag after gag, many of them locally based - though not all of them hit home. And, for once, he was a little bit less risqué!

Perhaps that's a policy change with the direction, that is steering a route back to the more traditional type of banter.

I would be two-faced if I didn't say that a steer in that direction was needed. I recall in a couple of recent Towngate reviews I have highlighted that the fact that the traditional lines and sight gags associated with panto were missing.

They're back this time - including a rather impressive spook for the 'He's Behind You' set up. And the water pistols came out with a vengeance too.

The show starts with a 'Welcome To The Pantomime' routine that sets the scene and introduces us to the cast.

In particular Aidan Banyard as Jack, Alice Hoult as Jess, Sophia Ragavelas as Fairy Sugarsnap and Ashley Cavender as Billy.

All perform well, with the energy of Sophia and the dynamism of Alice particularly shining through. Alice was a joy to watch all night, backing up her role as Cinders last year, and she really seemed to be enjoying herself, which is more than half the battle.

Ashley Cavender's role is a strange one. The silly in 'Silly Billy' has clearly been dropped - less slapstick, fewer giggles and a more straight man role but Ashley does have an impressive voice and set up many of the gags well.

Eponymous Jack is well played by Aidan, and he can certainly belt out a strong tune.

Sophie Ladds

Which leaves Sophie Ladds. This is Sophie's 17th year performing at the Towngate and she has matured into a perfect villainess (I recall describing her as 'delightfully wicked'), some of them very memorable. Last year's Wicked Stepmother springs to mind and in Peter Pan I recall saying 'Evil has never looked so good!'

So, I have to admit that I was somewhat underwhelmed this year. Villainous yes, but somehow the depth of character was missing.

Again I go back to the script. The whole show seemed a bit disjointed. Wonderful as it was to see a performing dog (or not performing on the night I watched) I didn't see the relevance of a lengthy canine-based caper in the first act - other than it allowed Dame Trott and Billy to get a memory-testing game of cards in! And the dog's decision to play with a carrot toy rather than perform showed up Ian's skills as he not only ad-libbed, but ad-acted through it. Genuinely top class performing.

And the conclusion was inescapably weak, albeit the setting in the clouds allowed for the drenching of Dame Trott that was probably the show's highlight. I won't spoil it by saying how or why!

What have I missed out in this review? Well, some very talented young professionals (including graduates from Corringham's Performers' College) and a delightful team of local young dancers couldn't be faulted.

Credit too to musical director, Matthew Reeve and his band. Excellent again.

And the pantomime Cow(Pat) was a joy.

To be fair, the show did climax with a great song and dance number, a mash-up of Hamilton and Le Mis (West End touch remains) that was a literally a great show stopper.

However, speaking of the ending - and I will give the game away - there's no love interest.

In more than 40 years of reviewing pantos (amateur and professional), I cannot recall a panto without a love story.

Perhaps that sums up what I felt was missing about this show. A bit of TLC.

Regardless of my disappointments (that's the problem with setting high standards), the show ended on a high note with dancing and cheering in the aisles which is what it's all about.

Jack and the Beanstalk runs until Sunday, 5 January 2025. To book tickets, visit https://towngatetheatre.co.uk/or call the Box Office on 01268 205 300.

Other previous reviews include 2021 and 2022.