Image above: The cast (L-R): Andy Ford, Sooty, Richard Cadell, Sweep, Will Young, Charlie Brooks and Benjamin Yates. Photo by @rialtomedia
This year’s panto at Bristol Hippodrome stands on the shoulders of giants… quite literally. Jack and the Beanstalk promises to deliver a fantastically festive show for the whole family, with an award-winning stand-out cast including Pop Idol Will Young and EastEnders legend Charlie Brooks.
Like many traditional fairy tales, it’s only when we grow up and reflect on what actually happens within those stories that we think we know so very well, that we’re able to take a step back and chuckle at the sometimes-questionable actions of characters.
Jack and the Beanstalk is the perfect example of this. Sure, let’s enter the giants’ realm uninvited, steal from them, then cause their untimely death in order for us to live prosperously. It’s basically tit for tat when you consider how awfully greedy and cruel the giants are anyway. Hooray! But it’s precisely this unlikely paradigm of absurd ethics in a battleground of good vs evil that gives these age-old fairy tales the perfect plot which pantomimes can create spellbinding stage shows from that never tire from imaginative reinvention.
And thank goodness for that, really, because is there anything more festive than heading into town with the whole family, wandering around the Christmas market, grabbing a bite to eat, then polishing off the day with a show at the Hippodrome? And boy, oh boy, does the team have a particularly fantastic cast spreading cheer this year (Oh, no, they don’t! Oh, yes, they do! You get the gist…).
Bristol audiences are being invited to join Jack Trot on his magical adventure as he sells his beloved cow, climbs to Cloudland, outwits the evil giant, wins riches beyond his wildest dreams, and captures the heart of the one he loves. This star-studded, sparkling adaptation of Jack and the Beanstalk has been created by the world’s biggest pantomime producer and the team behind the 2024 production of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Crossroads Pantomimes.
Making his panto debut is pop icon and star of the stage Will Young (who received an Olivier Award nomination during his stint in the West End’s Cabaret as Emcee), appearing in Bristol as the Spirit of the Beans. Will we ever be able to eat beans for dinner in the same way after seeing him bring their essence alive like never before? Probably not.
“Someone said to me that pantomime is often the first experience we have of live performance and the arts and they are so right,” Will says. “The first panto I saw was Cilla Black in Dick Whittington, and having gone regularly to the Bristol panto I’m so thrilled to be joining the production this year. Christmas is the most magical time and I’m proud to be a part of that wonderful tradition of pantomime, especially in Bristol, which puts on the best show.”
Joining Will is multi award-winning TV and theatre star Charlie Brooks, who’s playing the Giant’s wife Mrs Blunderbore. It’s not Charlie’s first time on stage at the Hippodrome, having wowed audiences with her darkly wicked role as Ursula in Neil Gaiman’s Ocean at the End of the Lane a couple of years ago.
“Bristol’s one of my favourite cities to perform in,” Charlie told The Bristol Magazine. “It’s a great place and I’m really excited about being back. My family are also based here, so it’s going to be really nice to be closer to my mum and my brother over the Christmas period.”
From EastEnders’ Janine to the aforementioned Ursula, and now Mrs Blunderbore, Charlie’s no stranger to playing the antagonist’s role in projects she takes on, so what is it that attracts her to these characters? “I understand Mrs Blunderbore is the villain, of course, but I’m not necessarily attracted to these roles, I just get offered them,” she says, chuckling. “That said, the baddie is always lots of fun to play.”
Will and Charlie will be joined by The Sooty Show puppeteer and actor Richard Cadell (accompanied by his friend Sooty!) as Silly Billy; and musical theatre performers Benjamin Yates and Ashlyn Weekes as Jack Trot and Princess Jill.
Also returning to the stage this Christmas is local panto legend and comedian Andy Ford, appearing in Jack and the Beanstalk as Farmer Trot.
“I’m looking forward to playing him,” Andy tells us. “The biggest pressure,” he says in his unmistakable Devonshire voice, “is that I’ll have to learn Farmer Trot’s West Country accent, which won’t be easy!” Touché, Andy.
Andy also explains that the expert cast have been able to perfect this panto with two weeks of solid rehearsals: “We’re mostly all coming in with a bit of panto experience, so we’re able to put these things together very quickly. Everyone’s lovely and we’re all here for the same reason, to have a wonderful time at Christmas and to make people happy – it’s a cliché I know, but it’s the truth.”
Andy, who’s no stranger to panto shows at the Hippodrome, has been bowled over the by the sheer scale of Jack and the Beanstalk.
“It’s a massive panto; it’s enormous,” he notes. “The sets are amazing, the scripts are really funny and it’s spectacular. In fact, I don’t think there’s any panto quite as spectacular as Jack and the Beanstalk. You’ll see that stalk on the stage growing, and it’s a fantasy that stretches right to the sky, so we’re going to transport people from their seats up to the giant’s castle in the sky. Who could ask for more?”
Jack and the Beanstalk runs at Bristol Hippodrome from Saturday 6 December until Sunday 4 January 2026. Tickets are on sale now via atgtickets.com/Bristol
Discover more theatre features and reviews from in and around Bristol here
