The Weymouth Pavilion have nailed it again with this year’s Panto and I must say it’s the best I’ve EVER seen!

We went to see ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ at the weekend and had 3 hours of non stop fun and giggles.

Before going in we had to play the game of getting Sam to have a snooze in the car so he wouldn’t pass out during the show.  When he woke up it was wet and windy so we opted to eat in the Pavilion Piano Bar before the show so we didn’t have to traipse across town.  It was actually quite handy, the car was parked, the food was great, the staff were lovely and we managed to purchase our snacks and drinks before it got too busy.

We’ve been to the Weymouth Pavilion a few times now and as yet I’ve not bumped into one grumpy member of staff and you can feel the excitement in the air when you’re going into a family friendly show.

I was very pleased that my husband had finally asked if he could come with us.  I’m not sure if he’d seen terrible Panto’s as a child but he’d always thought they were a bit rubbish so when I looked over 10 minutes in to the show to see him almost doubled over with laughter I knew his opinion had now changed.

The cast had some familiar faces and lots of great little one’s from local dance schools.  Dame Trott is just brilliant, Lee Redwood not only stars in the show but he also writes and produces it.  I’m not quite sure how he comes up with fresh material every time but he’s a very talented man.

Then of course there’s Gwenfryn West who played Simple Simon and I just LOVE him, he doesn’t even need to speak and he makes me laugh.  Some of the scenes with Dame Trott and Simple Simon are just hilarious, I had to have a giggle when Simon was called Muddle my mistake (his character from last year) and you could tell how many people in the audience were regulars like me as we were all laughing while Simon was asking Dame Trott who Muddle was?

I’m sure I’m not the only one that loves it when an actor gets the giggles and the scene where Jack and Jill are trying to sing a love song together just had each and every person in the theatre laughing their heads off.  I don’t want to ruin anything but the last prop to come out was the final straw and tears were rolling down my face!

The story of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ is an old favourite and I knew Sam was a little nervous about the giant being scary but I didn’t expect the character who was his horrible servant called Fleshcreep.  Now this is a compliment to the actor who played his part very well but to my boy it was a little ‘too’ well and at the point where he came into the audience it was just too close for him and he burst into tears.  I was desperate for him to make a gag or tell a joke about poo and I just kept whispering to Sam that he was just playing and that he didn’t really want to grind anyone’s bones up to make his bread!

The show is full of amazing magic tricks and illusions (some which left me genuinely dumbfounded) plus huge props and amazing costumes, how many did Dame Trott have?  I lost count!  And as for the wigs, well I think they’ve got bigger too, next year scaffolding may be required to hold them up!  The children definitely won’t have time to get bored either as there’s so much going on and of course plenty of audience participation.

Good to know……

At the end of our show there were some Birthday’s announced so if you have a Birthday on the night then make sure to let them know.

On the 14th of December there will be a relaxed performance which is especially adapted to accommodate people on the autism spectrum, as well as those with communication difficulties and learning disabilities.

For full details, dates, times and ticket costs please visit the Weymouth Pavilion Website.

Thank you Weymouth Pavilion for yet another fantastic show, I honestly came out wanting to see it again because it was so brilliant!

Love

Dorsetmum
xxx

This weekend we hopped in the car and headed to Weymouth to visit Father Christmas at the Sealife Adventure Park.  We arrived earlier than our pre booked time so that we could have lunch and enjoy some time with the turtles and sharks first.

We were told to head to the barn by the Turtle sanctuary at our allotted time and it was really nice to have somewhere to shelter from the drizzle.  Every now and again one of the cheery elves would bounce along to take the next family away for their experience.  Inside the barn there was some hay bales for the grown ups to sit on (and the kids to jump on), lights in the rafters and stockings up on the walls.

It wasn’t long before it was our turn and our lovely elf chatted away to Sam and asked him if he was ready to meet Father Christmas.  Of course he was, so much so that he flew down the boardwalk adorned with festive lights and I had to run to catch him!  Once we were at the end Sam and the elf meandered through the forest of Christmas trees where you may (or may not) get snowed upon.  The elf showed Sam where it had been snowing and he giggled away while she blew some snow in his face.


 
From here we were led to the Christmas cabin and as we walked inside I gave a little gasp while Father Christmas asked Sam to take a seat on the floor so he could have a chat with him.  One of the questions asked was if we had a chimney and Sam firmly said we’d leave the door open but we were told maybe it would be a good idea if we were to leave a key out instead (note to self, don’t forget!).

Now, I’ve done a few Grotto visits in previous years but NEVER have I seen a Father Christmas who looked exactly like I had always imagined he should.  So much so that I nearly pushed Sam aside to jump on his knee haha.  I loved sitting on the floor listening to them talking, he was so gentle and kind and he had Sam utterly mesmerised.

Looking around while we were in there you would have thought we were in Lapland.  There was plenty of room and each corner of the cabin was full of Christmas with twinkly lights, a fireplace, logs and a Christmas tree.  I’m not sure how long we were in there but I could of stayed for much longer.  Obviously Father Christmas has lots of children to see though so after their chat Sam was asked to pose for a picture and the elf gave him a present before we were led out.  Once we were back outside Sam was desperate to see what present he had so we took some shelter while he opened his gift which was a Sealife fishing game.

He wanted to play with it straight away so we went back to the main restaurant for another cuppa so Sam and Daddy could play his game while I went to enquire about photos.  Luckily Sam’s picture was really lovely so I had no problem in paying extra for a souvenir of our day.  There’s lots of photo choices but we opted for a snowflake decoration so it could go up on the tree year after year.

Good to know………

Adults may accompany children into the Christmas cabin at no extra cost.

Children under the age of 3 access the park for free but will still need a ticket to visit Father Christmas.

If you don’t have an annual pass then you should consider booking tickets online for a discount.

Pre booking online to see Father Christmas is highly advisable.  Please visit the Website for full details, prices and available times.

The Park is very child friendly with plenty of room for pushchairs plus baby change and milk warming facilities.

If I could recommend anything, it would be to book a slot later in the day when it’s dark and the festive lights will twinkle brighter!

Thank you Sealife Adventure Park for a fantastically festive visit.  Father Christmas and the lovely elves have clearly mastered the Christmas experience and Sam will certainly not forget tugging on the big mans beard!

Love

Dorsetmum
xxx