MK Theatre Review: Goldilocks and the Three Bears (Pantomime)

Summary

Rating: ★★★★★
Running Dates: 6th December - 11th January 
Where to see it: Milton Keynes Theatre 
Duration: 2 hours 20 mins incl. interval

Review

I have always loved going to see a pantomime at Christmas, it’s been a tradition in my family for years. I have, however, never been to the Milton Keynes Theatre pantomime and I was excited about my first one here. Of all the years going to pantomime in my life, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Goldilocks and the Three Bears and so I was intrigued as to how the story would play out. 

Starring Brian Conley alongside his daughter Lucy Conley, as well as David Robbins as the Dame and Gary Milner as the villain, Goldilocks and the Three Bears is a hilarious, magical and toe-tapping show. Rather loosely based on the original story, the show is mostly set in Billy Barnham's Circus with The Evil Ringmaster trying to get his hands on the deeds to the circus so that he can be the greatest showman in the world.

Conley plays Billy Barnham hilariously with both physical humour and plenty of jokes that will go over the kids’ heads. He bounces off the villain in a perfect pantomime way. It’s hard to tell if the breaks in character are intentional or they just find each other so funny they can’t keep a straight face. For those old enough to remember it there’s also a few “it’s a puppet!” references from Conley’s show back in the 90s, which I personally very much enjoyed. 

As the story moves along we get a mix of jokes about Milton Keynes (does MK have too many roundabouts or too many jokes about roundabouts?), plenty of pop culture references (I’m afraid I’m too ancient to know why 6,7 caused such a reaction with the kids), and then some rapping, tap dancing bears. We even had an appearance from the famous MK delivery robots and a baby elephant to top it off. For me, The Three Bears really steal the show, in particular Daddy Bear with his very unique walking style. I really enjoyed the magical interludes from Phil Hitchcock as Magical Myserioso and The Timbuktu Tumblers perform some jaw-dropping stunts that you need to see to believe. 

I would have loved to see more of the traditional pantomime moments; I was slightly disappointed by the lack of “it’s behind you” but the rest of the jokes and set pieces were hilarious. Our Dame had a different outfit and hairstyle every time she came on stage and there’s a lot of opportunity to boo and hiss at the villain which is always fun. Watch out if you’re sitting near the front as you might get picked on for some audience participation, and if you’re bringing the kids they might get a chance to shine on stage at the end of the show. 

Overall the show was a fantastic festive extravaganza and if it’s not already a family tradition, you should start one now by going to see this pantomime before it ends on 11th January. 

Reviewed by Louise Mortimer