Napoleon: un petit pantomime at Jermyn St Theatre ~ review
Photo of Matthew Keeler, Rosie Strobel & Elliot Broadfoot by Alex Brenner.
It’s time for a Bonaparty according to the vision of Charles Court Opera’s indefatigable composing/writing duo David Eaton and John Savournin! If this pantomime has one message it would be – don’t underestimate the importance of ‘beef pie.’
Beef pie or ‘rosbif’ is just one of the concepts coined in Charles Court Opera’s celebration of British Carry-on humour minus the smut, in which cross-continental references glue the hokum together like thick alcohol infused gravy. Charles Court have carved (forgive the pun) a niche for themselves as an operatic theatre company who can whip even the mustiest of classics into a delectable froth for the senses, and this translates beyond opera into pantomime – an equally archaic and silly form.
Their subject matter in the case of this season’s offering is the Napoleonic Wars, and true to form the plot finds itself twisted in a menage a trois between Napoleon, who has nicked Wellington’s arm, Wellington and the Ghost of Marie Antoinette.
The shenanigans transport us from palatial France to the smog-filled streets of London, all the while nodding to the characters’ frustrated hopes and dreams. All the ensemble shine with nuanced campery. The Princess, played by Amy J Payne, wants to fight the French but is obliged to marry – cue a disguise as an unlikely moustached soldier. The Duke, played by Jennie Jacobs, just wants to be a cook of gourmet meals and finally enjoys the opportunity to make a banquet for the French royals (enter beef pie).
The pie, like many other elements of the hokum, becomes the subject of a song – an interesting choice given that this production has been launched during COP29, when the need to cut down on beef consumption will be high on the agenda of green thinking theatre-goers, but perhaps low on the agenda of a satirical company giving traditional English humour a harmless outing.
Tunes from the likes of Abba and Culture Club please the audience with foot stomping aplomb, and spit and sawdust theatricality are further celebrated in the ensemble’s use of sock puppets and portraits that seemingly come alive.
The pantomime, as a whole, is laced with topical sauce of cross-dressing, gender identity and blasts of X-factor self-realisation ballads, and as such, hit the mark of being contemporary and popular yet cosily safe and festive. Audience members are beckoned on-stage to consummate the show’s form as a pantomime and take part in a quiz.
Hosted by Jermyn Street Theatre, Napoleon: un Petit Pantomime is a miniature pantomime in scale but a big one in terms of clout! The show’s combination of pie humour and middle-brow historical references will ensure that a central London audience feels overserved.
