Review: JACK AND THE BEANSTALK at Lyric Hammersmith 15 Nov 2025 – 4 Jan 2026
‘Original, thoughtful and mildly traditional’ ★★★ ½
This hip-hop pantomime is genuinely different. Sonia Jalay tells a strong story predicated on the importance of imagination, a quality we all have in our heads but it’s vulnerable. And although most of the traditional elements (slosh scene, sing along, children on stage, calling out, two person cow) are in, there aren’t many puns or tedious one liners. And it’s bespoke for Hammersmith. There’s a distinct, and very welcome, freshness here.
Jack Trott (Joey James), dressed in school uniform, is about to start at the Fleshcreep Academy where his sister Jill (Sienna Widd) is already established and his mother (Sam Harrison) is a dinner lady. The school is Dickensian with headteacher, Sir Fleshcreep MBE (John Partridge) coming somewhere between Mr Creakle and Miss Trunchbull as he menaces the children and their imaginations into submission. He looks and sounds like Nigel Farage too. The worst punishment is being “sent to the giant” Then in the second half, when we arrive in the giant’s kingdom, we’re effectively inside Fleshcreep’s head and it isn’t pretty.
The show opens with the terrifically talented Jade Hackett as Fairy Godfather. She sports a delicious Caribbean accent, moves like rubber, commands the stage and looks hilarious cuddling up to her love interest, Mama Trott, who is at least 18 inches taller. Sam Harrison, with all the requisite outrageous costumes (designed by Georgia Lowe) finds the right blend of camp, kindness and pathos in his take on the Dame.
Joey James also excels as the very nervous Jack gradually finding the confidence not to depend on his alter ego sock puppet and Sienna Widd’s Jill is delightful as the feisty elder sister – a very far cry from the usual “Silly Billy” brother whipping up the audience into forming gangs. And it’s all supported with some very pleasing ensemble work.
In many ways, though, this show belongs to John Partridge who cackles so unpleasantly that he really is foul rather than funny as he lords it over everyone – every word spat out with relish and spiced with some engaging body movement. Why am I not surprised to read that he trained as a dancer, initially at the royal ballet school?
The second half of this show is surprisingly dark – shades of both His Dark Materials and the Wizard of Oz. Being “sent to the giant,” as Jill has been, is seriously sinister but no spoilers. Suffice it to say that it makes a subtle but very pertinent political point about education and what, at its worst, it does to young people.
It’s fortunate that most of the songs (Corin Buckridge) are rap because the words are inclined to disappear in the more pop-style numbers, partly because the music – well played by a four piece band led by Olivia Zacharia - is often too loud.
For myself I really liked this reworking of the panto genre but I suspect it might not do for families looking for the sort of light-hearted seasonal romp they’re used to. The children around me were engaged and willing to yell when required but there wasn’t all that much laughter.
JACK AND THE BEANSTALK at Lyric Hammersmith
Written by Sonia Jalay
Directed by Nicholai La Barrie
BOX OFFICE https://lyric.co.uk/shows/jack-and-the-beanstalk-2025/
Photography: Manuel Harlan
