Jack and the Beanstalk is on stage at Southampton Mayflower Theatre until Sunday 5th January.

JAW-dropping sets, world class dance routines and a superb cast all came together in Southampton Mayflower Theatre’s giant pantomime extravaganza Jack and the Beanstalk.

From the enormous beanstalk that magically grew up through the auditorium, to the breathtaking dance routines performed by Ashley Banjo and Diversity, Mayflower Theatre has delivered another absolute Christmas cracker with the magical production.

But for all the razzle and dazzle, it was the wonderful Kev Orkian, returning to the Southampton venue for his second season, who really stole the show, demonstrating perfect comic timing and a wonderful ability to ad-lib that had the audience howling with laughter.

Cast as Silly Simon, Kev had a wonderful rapport with Ashley Banjo and had the audience eating out of his hand from the get-go. From pointing out ‘Pat’ the panto cow’s missing foot to giggling with Ashley Banjo and Perri during a particularly taxing tongue twister, Kev was certainly a firm favourite with young and old.

Taking elements of the traditional fairytale and injecting plenty of up-to-the-minute humour (Greg Wallace even gets a mention) the story began with a Royal Variety-type show which provided plenty of opportunities for the cast to shine.

Dizzying dance routines came thick and fast as the Diversity team catapulted and flipped across the stage with perfect precision. Cleverly woven into the story’s narrative, each dance performance was more impressive than the last, blending hip-hop, street dance and acrobatics to highlight the troupe’s incredible versatility.

And although the theatre boosts a sizable stage, timing was everything – especially when Silly Simon’s dance team launched into an electrifying dance-off with Diversity.

Ashley Banjo brought charm and charisma to the role of Jack as his natural stage presence and easy rapport with the crowd made him a perfect panto lead. Alongside him, Lauren Hampton was a charming and delightful Princess Jill, although the relationship between the pair didn’t really develop as a central theme of the story.

Mayflower Theatre favourite Matt Rixon was brilliantly funny as the larger-than-life panto Dame Trot, modelling a wonderful selection of ever-more-extraordinary costumes. Anne Smith made a magnificent panto baddie in the form of Mrs Blunderbore the Giant’s wife, and Jacqueline Hughes positively sparkled as the Spirit of the Bean.

Stage effects were incredible, from huge jets of fire to colourful confetti that rained down on the theatre helping transport the audience to a magical world filled with lavish props, gorgeous costumes, and a wonderful cast.

The storyline was very much secondary to the mindblowing dance routines and wonderful comedy skits – but that didn’t really matter in a show as breathtaking as this. While lighting, choreography and the brilliant cast were absolutely spot on, it was a shame that during the first half the sound balance was not quite right, making it difficult to hear the vocals over the background music.

Despite this small issue, Mayflower Theatre once again delivered the stuff of panto dreams, a high-energy, family friendly show, that simply could not fail to delight.

For my 22-year-old daughter who joined me at press night, it was a revelation and the best she has ever seen (and she’s seen a fair few!). “I just didn’t even know panto could be that good,” she told me on the way home.

Jack and the Beanstalk is onstage at Southampton Mayflower Theatre until Sunday 5th January. For tickets visit www.mayflower.org.uk