‘FE FI FO FUM I smell the blood of a Cornish man?'

This year’s pantomime brought to the town hall by Launceston Amateur Dramatics Society will reach new heights with a ‘Giant’ performance of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’.

Audiences will be roaring with laughter as Jack takes on the Giant in this new twist on a classic, written and directed by Nigel Crabb.

With Jack and his mother no longer able to afford the rent, is their beloved cow ‘Ermytrude’ to be sold to the butcher Phillip Warren or can Jack’s guardian come to the rescue and set him on a path to find new fortune?

The panto begins with a display by the ‘wrong arm of the law’.

The poor ‘Constable Constable’, Lynda Savory, tries to organise her bunch of less-than-useless local bobbies, including ‘Sergeant Sergeant’, Sheila Brown, ‘Defective Detective’, Di Betts, and ‘Paddy Wagon’, Marlene Jewell.

Their acapella number by ‘The Police’ will warm the audience up, ready for a night of naughty jokes, local puns and sing-along fun.

In a box to stage left, with a hand up their backs, Bob and Betsy are forced by their human operators, Phoebe Neary and Sienna Wait, to begin the narration of the tale.

Featured throughout the panto, the two puppets will have audiences giggling as they too hide from the ‘Scary or What!’ Giant, Les Gregory, who has been terrorising ‘Laun-ces-ton’.

The stage is then passed to ‘Jack’, Abbie Soddy, and his ‘Mother’, Hayley Gregory, who can no longer afford the rent, and ‘Rufus Rentalot’, Aidy Shears, is hounding them to pay up so he can become the ‘Richman’ he’s always dreamed of being.

With his girlfriend ‘Jill’, Emily Nolan, showering him enthusiastically with love, and the ‘Beanseller’, Jack’s guardian, Lucy Gregory, at his side, Jack sets off with the beloved cow ‘Ermytrude’, Marlene Jewell and James Sanders, to seek his fortune and save his family from ruin — narrowly escaping the Giant as he does so with help from the ‘Giant’s servant’, Holly Childs, the ‘Magic Harp’, Lucy Shear and the ‘Magic Hen’ and her golden eggs, Kelsey Milne.

This is set to be another great pantomime brought to Launceston by LADS, but be aware there is a weather warning in place.

In true Launceston style, two fluffy rain clouds will make an appearance during the panto, Jasmin Bradley and Paige Barnes, and try to rain on the parade — so those with front row tickets might want to bring an umbrella.

Music performed by the pantomime band will have audiences dancing in their seats with Mike Kempster on keyboard, Ruby Clare on cello, Hils Whale with alto saxophone and Nigel Crabb on bass guitar.

There are ‘topical financial references’ and relevant local puns that any ‘Lanson’ resident will find side-splitting and is a family show that adults will enjoy just as much as the children.

So sit back, grab a drink from the licensed bar, and enjoy the exploits of Jack as he scurries up the beanstalk and returns after getting a little more than he bargained for.

Performances start at 7.30pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday 21–23 with a matinee on Saturday 23 at 2pm.

Tickets, Thursday adults: £8 or £6 and children: £5. Friday and Saturday adults: £10 or £8 and children: £5.

Tickets can be booked online at crbo.co.uk or by calling 01726 879500 or from the Launceston Tourist Information Centre.

Report by Zoë Uglow.