Hungerford actor having clucking good time on tour with Ian McKellen and John Bishop
Following a visit from Sir Ian McKellen to the Corn Exchange panto last year, to see his friend Adam Brown's Cinderella - which Adam co-wrote and directed - the Hungerford actor is now touring the country in Sir Ian's own panto Mother Goose.
The two met when they worked together in Newzealand on the Peter Jackson film of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit. Adam played the dwarf Ori and Sir Ian was the wizard Gandalf. https://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/sir-ian-mckellen-checks-out
Adam told @newburytoday arts editor Trish Lee: "I’m having a wonderful time on Mother Goose. We’ve just celebrated our 100th show here in Oxford and it still feels as fresh as our opening night. The company are insanely talented and it’s a joy to work with them all – plus it’s lovely to be working alongside Ian again. We have Leicester, Dublin, Cardiff, Salford and Bristol left on the tour. If you fancy a good old belly laugh do get get booking mothergooseshow.co.uk
Here's how it went down in Oxford:
Mother Goose at New Theatre Oxford from March 7-11. Review by JON LEWIS
Cal McCrystal’s Ambassadors Theatre production of Jonathan Harvey’s slick, entertaining pantomime Mother Goose is also a significant piece of populist queer theatre. It’s attracting large numbers of theatregoers to the biggest stages in the country because of the golden pairing of Sir Ian McKellen, famous for his campaigns in support of the LGBTQ community, as Mother Goose, and comedian John Bishop as the dame’s bemused husband Vic.
It’s usual to see cross-dressing in panto but Harvey, writer of queer classic Beautiful Thing, and McCrystal, both gay, stress story arcs with same-sex couples getting married and fill the script with naughty gay innuendo. In one scene, one of McKellen’s splendid dresses (designer, Liz Ascroft) features a bold rainbow pattern that garners huge applause. Gay themes are reinforced in the show’s stand out number, a knowing reworking of Lady Gaga’s Born This Way.
The production is also fascinating for its insights into theatre history and practice. In his preamble to the show which performed at the Duke of York’s Theatre over Christmas, Bishop provides a potted history of JM Barrie’s Peter Pan first performance at that theatre, the exhortation to the audience to believe in fairies and the fact that there are ‘probably more fairies in this production than you think’. In one moment of reflection, McKellen steps out of character and tells the audience about his first experience of pantomime in Bolton. In another, McKellen as Mother Goose recites some of Shakespeare’s lines about ‘the quality of mercy’ that recall his Shakespearean roles.
Newbury audiences will appreciate the casting of Corn Exchange pantomime supremo Adam Brown as the King of Gooseland and the only cast member beyond McKellen and Bishop to hold the stage for a scene.
Beyond the leads, Karen Mavundukure and Sharon Ballard have wonderful voices as the bad and good fairies, Anna-Jane Casey brings an edgy humour to Cilla Quack, the golden goose, and Richard Leeming breaks the fourth wall with his droll asides. When the audience members wave their mobile phones with their lights on and sing Sweet Caroline with the cast, theatre magic fills the theatre.
