We got to catch Mother Goose when it flew into Brighton, a cracking pantomime for all the family. 

Mother Goose landed in Brighton with a cracking flourish, a huge golden egg at Brighton Train Station alerted visitors and locals alike that something big was coming. When it was announced that Sir Ian McKellen and John Bishop were starring in the pantomime, interest reached fever pitch and tickets disappeared faster than an on-stage glitter explosion.

We caught this show just before it goes off on tour around the UK and am so glad we did, because it is honestly going to be one of our favourite experiences this Christmas. We headed off to the Theatre Royal Brighton for our very first pantomime, expecting laughter, music and audience interaction and we were not disappointed!

Ian McKellen plays Mother Goose, the Dame in the show, who is married to none other than Vic (John Bishop.) At the start of the show John Bishop warned us you won’t know how to describe the production and boy was he right! It is a fabulous mix of traditional panto pranks, amazing musical numbers, a healthy dose of innuendo, Shakespeare monologues and Orks.  The latter provided a lot of fun for the adults and Lord of the Rings fans alike as Sir Ian McKellen pretended the ominous show lights were Orks in the distance.

Narration was down to two fairies, Malignia and Encanta who balanced the action and kept the younger audience members on track as to what was happening. Malignia played our panto meanie perfectly, the right balance of humorous and menacing, encouraging a lot of boos from the kids. Luckily the nice fairy, Encanta was on hand to provide the requisite Christmas magic along with amazing vocal abilities, both fairies raised the roof when singing together.  

The production was well paced, and the titular Goose was hilarious, rattling through more references than you can shake a stick at, just as you finish laughing at one, another followed fast behind. We also loved Jack, the Goose’s son who encouraged audience interaction and was the fall guy for a lot of the pranks. My favourite part had to be the dancing, seeing Ian McKellen tap dance across the historic Theatre Royal Brighton stage was a treat for the eyes.

Now over to the other half of this reviewing team, my 7-year-old. I asked her what she thought about Mother Goose and the response was, “10 stars out of 10, it is so fun because it has a lovely fairy and a mean fairy, and I love it because it has lots of fun things. Children should go and see it because I’m one and it has fun pieces in the show, and I wish I could go and see it again. It’s the best pantomime and I so wish I could see it 19 times a day.” I think this young theatre fan was hooked!

John Bishop commented that when people heard Sir Ian McKellen was starring in a panto, it would attract adults and children alike, and that is the beauty of this show, both my daughter and I proper belly laughed throughout, although neither laughing at the same thing. Mother Goose is just the right side of innuendo, leaving parents being just as entertained as the kids are at the slapstick comedy.

The joy of the cast shone out in this production, everyone on stage looked to be having such a blast, and this quickly rubbed off on the audience as the standing ovation showed. Mother Goose is a feel-good theatre experience like no other, the perfect slice of festive fun and escapism for kids and adults alike. If you want to see Sir Ian McKellen having the time of his life while dressed as a dame, catch him while you can.

Caroline