Jack and the Beanstalk - Show Up Productions Review by Nina Jervis-Green

December 24, 2025

Thanks to Nina Jervis-Green from www.ninathewriter.com for this review.

Jack and the Beanstalk is the fourth pantomime by Show Up Productions, a fun and ambitious theatre company who focus on female-led comedy. After last year’s original take on Cinderella, I couldn’t wait to see what this show would have in store.

Once again, Hadleigh Old Fire Station has been transformed into a pop-up theatre for the show, with the hard-working team adding new components each year. For 2025, there’s a custom-built arch, lighting equipment, and a wonderful set, designed by Alice Neale to resemble a 50’s-style milkshake bar called The Mooshack.

Uncle Max runs The Mooshack with his niece and nephew, Jack and Jill. If this already sounds like a diversion from the classic tale, you’d be right. Writer and director Rachel Dingle has created a sharp, fresh, and funny spin on the well-worn plot, focusing on the relationships between family and friends… and what actually happens to the cow after she’s been traded for those beans!

The all-female cast of five were fantastic, performing with warmth and zeal that was completely addictive.

Lucia Randall was a fabulously cheeky Uncle Max, whose flirtations with an audience member caused plenty of laughter throughout the show. Jack and Jill (Bri Malaika and Trigger Bliss) bounced off one-another in a teasy and familiar way that evoked real siblings.

Eleanor Stranders – also the show’s choreographer – shone as the uber-glam, money-obsessed podcaster Mary Labubu, who tricks Jack into trading the family’s beloved cow for the beans. ‘Cow’ herself is brilliantly played by Sarah Fenn, whose characterful facial expressions and gestures had the audience roaring.

The jokes came thick and fast throughout – this was the ‘grown-up’ performance, so they were bolder than they might otherwise be! – and so did the creativity, through inventive set-pieces and incredible attention to detail. And as a community-led show, the references to local places and affairs were fantastically on-point (including a side-splitting joke about wheelie bins, and a stand-out scene set in a second-hand treasure shop called ‘Mez and Carrie’s’).

It’s worth mentioning that Show Up welcomes newcomers to theatre in every sense of the word.

Not only were some of the cast working in panto for the first time (a fact I couldn’t believe!) but the schedule includes a special ‘Cake and Chat’ performance. This includes sweet treats and friendly chats with the cast and crew, for people coming on their own. There are baby-friendly and relaxed showings too, so everyone can enjoy the fun.

But whoever you go with, this original version of Jack and the Beanstalk is full of fun, heart and soul. This stands it out from the big-name, big-budget pantos we see everywhere, every year, making it a total must-see.