Oh No It Isn’t by Luke Adamson. The Brockley Jack Studio Theatre, 410 Brockley Road, London SE4 to 06 January 2024.

4****: William Russell.

“A splendid Christmas show – Oh, yes it is.”

Two pantomime dames who are playing the Ugly Sisters are in their dressing room getting ready to perform and, long standing partners on stage, bicker about how things are going, about the past – something happened when they were together in Hansel and Gretel – about having to share a dressing room, about what comes next and about life upon the wicked stage. The play is charming, sentimental – a love letter to the theatre according to Adamson – and about the joys and delights of pantomime. Their opening number singing Sisters from White Christmas is a delight. Watching two somewhat portly middle aged gentlemen with amazing bosoms strapped on get dressed as the show proceeds and they have to go on stage for the various events in the pantomime is a lesson in itself. Part of the pleasure is this is a Christmas show which is not a pantomime because pantomime today, although it survives, is not what it was – the days of a chorus of some 20 villagers welcoming the principal boy in the opening scene are no more. Now you are lucky if there are six in the ensemble. Here you have a cast of two but you are not short changed. Bryan Pilkington (minus his bear shown n the programme) and Matthew Parker create the squabbling pair perfectly – and the scene when one suddenly loses the plot and forgets his lines with the other saving the day is touching as is the end when one has been booked for next year the other has not. Karl Swinyard has created a splendidly cluttered dressing room with a rack of fabulous gowns for the pair to keep putting on which slides off to allow them to be on stage and director Kate Bannister has created yet another Christmas show at the Jack which is out of the ordinary. It is a great night out in a great pub theatre in a rather good pub. Oh Yes It Is.

Cast

Bryan Pilkington – Mr Worth.

Matthew Parker - Mr Chancery .

Lola Oteh-Cole - Voice Over.

Creatives

Director – Kate Bannister.

Set Designer – Karl Swinyard.

Lighting Design – Robin Butler.

Sound Design – Florence Hand.

Costume Design – Martin J. Robinson.

Choreography – Tessa Guerrero.