UNDER normal circumstances, you wouldn’t catch me dead or alive at a show like this, surrounded by small children. Those who know me, know. However, I saw it is directed by Steven Stead on whom I currently have a massive theatre crush because is there nothing this man can’t turn his hand to? Fair Lady. Twelfth Night. Rocky Horror. Carmen. And children’s panto; last year he and his theatre company KickstArt did Jack And The Beanstalk.
While Puss In Boots is essentially family/children’s entertainment, there’s plenty of sly cleverness lurking there in the jokes and one-liners which will land with adults and bypass the little ones. They will be thoroughly distracted by the insanely colourful and bright sets and costumes, lights and pyrotechnics, the dancing and singing, and of course the main cat (who is weirdly attractive). It is sensory overload, but in a nice way, and I relished every moment.
In their programme notes, Stead and KickstArt Theatre co-director Greg King touch on the themes of the original 1695 fairy tale but then go on to say “we have borrowed from all over the place in creating our own version of Puss In Boots, as is only good and fitting in a pantomime!” Thus, Puss has a Latino accent à la Antonio Banderas, but the setting moves from Spain to a Caribbean island, with a good fairy named Calypso Honeybunch. Her counterpart is Grimsby Withergood, an evil shapeshifting goblin/wizard/ogre. Audience booing and hissing is encouraged when he is on stage.
Naturally there is a love story between the Tom humble son of the local baker, Mother Merry Marzipan, and the Princess Miranda, and a grim situation which requires a hero. Tom’s big brother Tristram is a Johnny Bravo-type oaf with the same hair. The characters are completed with Selina Swiftclaw, Grimsby’s familiar (also a cat in case that’s not clear), and King Magnum the Magnanimous, Miranda’s father.
“We are very proud of our family-oriented pantomimes, which are made with great love and much attention to detail. These have been delighting Durban audiences for two decades, and we know that they are the theatrical equivalent of a major sugar-rush, but when the Cape Town audience for our Jack and Beanstalk was so overwhelmingly positive, we knew that we had to bring Puss in Boots down this year. It is wild ride for an audience, with huge laughs, gorgeous visuals, and a totally original spin,” says Stead.
More information here.
PHOTO CREDIT: Kim Stevens
