Review: Pinocchio Pantomime at Newcastle Theatre Royal

Review: Pinocchio at Newcastle Theatre Royal

Guest post by Gemma Hirst

When you wish upon a star you find yourself at The Adventures of Pinocchio at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle.

Danny Adams and Clive Web are celebrating 18 years at the Theatre Royal. It’s no secret as to why their shows are so successful.  The father and son duo star in their new pantomime, Pinocchio. Join Danny as he transforms from the famous puppet to a real boy and get ready to see his nose grow every time he tells a lie!

As expected from a production by Michael Harrison and Crossroad Pantomimes, it’s fast-paced, full of energy, slapstick comedy and audience participation. It is razzle-dazzle production full of big sets and props, including a flying helicopter and a sailing ship that sails into the audience. Not to mention a jaw dropping and rather dangerous fireworks performance by Spark Fire Dance.

Returning for another year to sing “again”, South Shields X Factor Winner, Joe McElderry plays Jiminy Cricket. Helping Pinocchio find his conscience, McElderry beautifully performs a range of songs including When You Upon A Star and Give A Little Whistle. Seeing him become more involved in Danny’s tricks and physical jokes was funny.

Of course, you can’t have the panto without Dame Rita Rigatoni, played by Chris Hayward. He is on the good side this year and whilst we don’t see much of them, their personality added a certain geordie class to the performance. Speaking of geordie class, it was refreshing to see Kylie Anne Ford and Christina Berriman Dawson play Kitty the Cat and Phyllis the Fox. Playing the evil side kicks to The Greay Stromboli (Wayne Smith) strolling onto the stage to the tune of Fog on the Tyne, they were more loveable rogues than evil characters in their cute and colourful furry costumes.

You can’t fault the level of talent and energy on that stage, it felt like I was watching a West End production. The Theatre Royal Panto raises the bar every year and this year it was raised even higher. It is their best panto to date.

Pinocchio plays at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Tue 28 Nov 2023 – Sun 14 Jan 2024. Over 75,000 tickets have already been sold – book now and secure your seats today! Tickets can be purchased at www.theatreroyal.co.uk or from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 0191 232 7010.

Relaxed performances: Sun 10 Dec 2023, 12pm & Wed 10 Jan 2024, 12pm 
Audio Described & Captioned performance: Tue 12 Dec, 7pm 
BSL performance: Thu 14 Dec, 7pm