Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Marianne Benedict, Adam Bowler, Tom Connor, Nicola Hawkins, Sam Heywood, Stephanie Hockley, Martina Isibor, Adam Keast, Greg Last, Francis Tucker.
There’s a lady who’s sure that all that glitters is comedy gold and the music, and laughter that comes from out of the Everyman at the start of the festive season is one true reason to lock the door, head to the bright lights of Hope Street and revel in the latest in a long line of Christmas extravaganzas written by Sarah A. Nixon and Mark Chatterton, the superb Rapunzel: Hairway To Heaven.
When the King’s new born baby daughter is foretold to go bald, there is only thing that the distraught man can do, finding a big enough cabbage might a dangerous occupation but as always in tales lovingly enhanced from the Brother’s Grimm own story books, the wicked witch soon finds a way to take advantage of the situation and with a plot so beautifully weaved and knitted together, the search is on for the girl called Rapunzel.
With music directed by Tayo Akinbode, and with songs performed as always with magnificence by the cast from great British bands such as Queen, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, the arrangements complimented the on stage performance with clarity and good humour.
Sarah A. Nixon’s and Mark Chatterton’s Rapunzel: Hairway To Heaven welcomes back the gracious Marianne Benedict to the Everyman Theatre as the villainess with the best voice around, the despicable Poisonella, the absolute comedic genius of both Adam Keast and Francis Tucker who once more provide so much laughter for the whole family that the fur flies as they pelt the audience with so many saucy double entendres that they deserve the ‘mane’ star billing and a cast that doesn’t stop giving throughout the show. It is in this ethos that the Everyman Rock ‘N’ Roll Panto continues to be a huge success, rich in the festive spirit and a joy to behold.
It is time to let down your hair, to wear your finest party frocks and tresses and to curl up laughing at the funniest and grooviest panto around, Rapunzel: Hairway To Heaven is a cut above.
Ian D. Hall