Preview: Two pantos

There is a buzz of excitement backstage at The Theatre, Chipping Norton as the cast prepare to add a touch of magic to a dull November evening when the curtain rises on Jack and the Beanstalk.

The cast of Jack and the Beanstalk

As ever with Chipping Norton pantos, tickets are selling like hot cakes, with many performances already sold out. The same story can be heard at the Oxford Playhouse. Both theatres say advance ticket sales have never been so high and have closed bookings on several performances already.

So why is the panto gaining in popularity? Is it the quality of the productions or is it the need to escape into a colourful fantasy world for an evening?

For many, a pantomime,with its corny jokes, slapstick, glittering finale where everyone except the baddie gets to live happily ever after, has become a touchstone. There is something comforting about shouting "He's behind you" and singing along with everyone else from a silly songsheet.

But with all traditions, subtle changes make their mark to reflect changing moods.

This is certainly the case with Paul Knight's adaptation of Puss In Boots, opening at the Oxford Playhouse on December 6, which remains faithful to the original tale, but is now far more ethically correct.

Puss in Boots is the story of a trickster cat who cleverly engineers a succession of hoaxes and lies for the benefit of his master, which eventually leads to wealth, successful marriage and a happy ever after ending.

Russell Dixon, who plays the Dame, Queen Juanita Leftafeeta, said that the original story celebrates the success of a character who lies and cheats and producers are often put off staging it for this reason.

"The fact that it's a cat and not a human who does these things doesn't change the moral issues within this tale," he said.

Russell said the scriptwriter of this production, Paul Knight, has succeeded in changing the emphasis of Puss in Boots into a very moral tale.

"What Paul's done is to suggest that there are times when one's destiny is laid out before you, and show us how we can get caught up in things that are not of our making."

Paul Knight has written the script for Playhouse pantos for more than a decade and often added his own subtle twists to the fairy tales. With Puss in Boots he has turned the tale into a restoration of lost inheritance.

"The lands, the castle and gold are all Pablo's inheritances that's been stolen by the Ogre. This information is known by the cat (Puss Y Catto) and she guides our hero through a rite of passage to regain all that was once his."

Jack and the Beanstalk is another classic tale which offers a twist on the honesty theme.

Our hero Jack trades the family cow for a handful of beans, then climbs the magic beanstalk, invades the Giant's castle and scampers home with stolen treasures to secure his family's future. Admittedly, the Giant is evil and wanted to eat Jack, but does that give Jack the right to steal his treasures?

This 19th-century version of Jack and the Beanstalk has the addition of a fairy, who informs the audience that Jack's father was a wealthy and prosperous landowner killed by a mean-minded giant who stole everything he owned, thus reducing Jack and his mother to poverty. By taking the Giant's treasures, Jack was only reclaiming the family property.

Ruth Staines, scenic artist and stage manager at The Theatre, Chipping Norton, does not want to spoil the surprise of how the scriptwriter Jeff Clarke has added his own moral twist to Puss in Boots to bring it up to date.

"Perhaps readers will get some idea of how the story goes if I say that we have a character called Mr Slugitt, a town councillor who is planning to build a shopping precinct and multi-storey cinema complex on land rented by impoverished villagers such as Jack and his mother.

"As you can guess, Slugitt wants to remove Jack's house so that the development can go ahead. This fact and others will more than justify any action on Jack's part."

Moral correctness aside, both pantos remain faithful to tradition. There will be sweets for us to catch, outrageous dames dressed in equally outrageous garments, a handsome hero and a beautiful heroine and, in the case of Jack in the Beanstalk, a quite remarkable dancing cow with big, doleful eyes. Oh, and a certain charismatic cat.

Jack and the Beanstalk, which is directed by Jonny Worthy, is at The Theatre, Chipping Norton, until Saturday, January 11. Tickets can be booked from the box office on 01608 642350.

The curtain rises on Puss in Boots - director Michelle Hardy - at the Oxford Playhouse from December 6 until Sunday, January 12. For tickets ring the box office on 01865 305305.