Review: Mother Goose, UK Tour, at the Lowry, Salford

Panto in Easter.. that's fine right? 

Oh not it isn't! 

Oh yes it is! 

(sorry, couldn't resist) 

This particular panto, is possibly the first traditional family-friendly panto I have been to since I was a teenager... I am sorry, but it is not normally my cup of tea. 

However, I had to make an exception for Mother Goose! 

Starting in Brighton, Mother Goose played a stint in London over Christmas last year, and his since been touring across the country. Salford is the penultimate stop. 

When the Goose family are stuck in the middle of a bet between two fairies, and are gifted with a golden-egg-laying goose, will they or won't they give into temptation riches can provide. 

Now, like I said before, panto is not normally my thing... 

But how could I say no with Sir Ian McKellen at the helm! 

How do you describe watching Sir Ian McKellen live? How do you describe watching Sir Ian McKellen, live, onstage as a panto dame? 

In simple terms... you can't. Well I can't anyway. Yes I never forgot it was Ian McKellen, not when he slipped into Gandalf mode whenever he heard a word ending in "Orcs", or sounding like it at least *cue dramatic music*; but I am a bit speechless to be honest. 

There is one specific thing I can say. Ok, well two. One of course was that Caroline Goose was a very lovable dame. 

The second is that McKellen is a master of ad-libbing. There were a few things that went wrong, and you saw the cast crease up. Oscar Conlon-Morrey's (Cinderella: A Socially Distant Ball) beet red was particularly hilarious to watch in those moments, but McKellen was always the one to TRY and get things back on track. 

And oddly enough, those were the moments when having a stand-up like John Bishop worked best - in his true element I guess. 

While McKellen was the leader of this Fellowship (hehe), many of the cast got their time to shine golden

Conlon-Morrey plays the Goose's son Jack, adorned with a Scouts sweatshirt, being utterly adorable and having the time of his life. And of course, we have the fabulous Anna-Jane Casey (The Band Plays On) as the croc-wearing tap-dancing, Babs-belting Cilla the Goose. You wouldn't believe that she recently turned 50! 

Gladys! Get off me ice cream!

The script, from Jonathan Harvey, is full of laugh-a-minute tropes you would expect from panto. There's the "it's behind you", there's a lot of jokes, there's a lot of jabs to x y and z, there's a lot of innuendos... And it oddly felt very Northern. Odd to say as this is a panto that's toured the country, but that's how it truly felt. 

Mother Goose had all the tropes you would expect and enjoy 

I've mentioned all the writing tropes already, but: 

• If you want over-acting, then look no further than Karen Mav (The Colour Purple) as the evil fairy Malignia
• The food scenes got messy
• The audience got an opportunity where were asked to to sing along (not throughout the whole performance This Morning...)
• We had stunning costumes, designed by Liz Ascroft, that glittered, were glamourous, and were full of British culture 
• Some camp and cheesy covers of songs you all know
• We even had some puppetry for the residents of the Goose's animal shelter 

Oh and a lovely treat - an adorable little goose plushie was included in the price of the programme! Gladys (named by my brother) is now the newest member of our family - and I'm happy to say she loved the show as much as we did! 

If you are lucky enough to catch the last couple of days in Salford, or the final week in Bristol, you are going to have a golden time

Yes it may seem a bit unorthodox to see a panto around Easter rather than Christmas; but why not! Easter is a joyful time to spend with family, so I guess it is not that much of a stretch to have a family tradition take place at Easter too...? 

Oh and course, any chance to see the incomparable Ian McKellen act his fake tits off!