If you thought pantomime season was over, well oh no it isn’t as Beamish Museum will be keeping the festive spirit flowing for a while yet.
The open-air attraction in County Durham is only just getting into the swing of panto-time with its own new year show now under way and running every weekend through January then up to February 16. And, making the most of the panto family tradition, its show – Jack and the Beanstalk – is being delivered 1950s-style.
So, forget the likes of flashy lights and 3D effects that are the mark of many of today’s big festive affairs: the Beamish panto promises simple good old-fashioned fun. It will take place on Saturdays and Sundays in the museum’s 1950s welfare hall, which was the first building created in The 1950s Town where, as previously reported, major developments now include a working cinema and new shops.
The Beamish Amateur Dramatic Society will perform the panto there in keeping with the era and its take on the classic tale about the lad who sells his cow for a handful of magic beans, which leads to the discovery of a giant, is set to be told with lots of merriment and music – plus a harp and a hen that lays golden eggs – and even a little extra it seems.
Jack and the Beanstalk opened this January at Beamish Museum
(Image: Beamish Museum PR)
“While everyone knows the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, it’s a pantomime being performed at Beamish Museum so it’s going to have a Beamish twist!”, says Lisa Powell, Beamish pantomime director and operational lead for the 1950s welfare hall. Its script-writer Porle Miller added: “Whenever we undertake a panto performance, we strive to retain the charm, naivety and understated production values of the 1950s which we believe enhances the visitors’ immersion into the era they’re visiting at the time.
“This is a show put together by a community so that everyone can have a good time!” This is the third year that the Beamish staff and volunteers have written, directed and performed an on-site panto and Porle, who also works with visitors as a museum engager, says helping create the treat for young ones proves magical for him too.
The panto performances, which last around 50 minutes, will take place at 11am, 1pm and 2.30pm during weekends until February 16 and tickets, which must be booked in advance, cost £3 with entry for under-fives being free. The usual museum admission charges apply. To book see here.