‘What is a panto?’ I asked my companion at the Hackney Empire’s Saturday matinee. ‘It’s basically a really bad play,’ said Coco, aged five and three quarters. She was there with her older brother and my son to help me appreciate the Christmas frolics. Half an hour in, I feigned confusion over the storyline. ‘People are trying to steal the duck,’ she said.
Mother Goose is a parable of wealth and greed set in Hackney-topia where an impoverished family become rich when their champion egg-layer starts to produce bullion instead of breakfast. Menaced by an assortment of harpies and malefactors, they move into a spangly new palace and try to protect their asset from thieving hands. Clive Rowe, playing the title role, has enough charisma to fill Terminal Five and he approaches his annual Hackney gig like a stroll in the park. When a joke falls flat he brings it instantly back to life. ‘You’ve paid your money, ladies and gentlemen, you might as well enjoy yourselves.’ He snuck in a reference to Arthur Miller and added, ‘That’s for the Guardian readers.’ More adult quips like that would have done no harm. A political reference got the show’s biggest cheer. ‘I’ll never vote Ukip!’ said a character in a silly costume to a 12-foot-high vulture. Hackney loved that.
This is a slick, handsome and richly costumed show that boasts some big ensemble numbers with high-kicking chorus lines and soaring melodies belted out by great singers. Beautifully polished and excellent to watch. And it’s fantastic for the performers to practise their West End skills on stage. But it all gets a bit lost on the kiddies who only want to scream, boo and giggle. At half-time I asked my expert for an instant verdict.
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