This isn’t my first Panto of the year, but I could happily see Panto after Panto all year long. And so my invite to The Queen of Hearts at Greenwich Theatre reverted me to my childhood of Panto tradition around Christmas.

We are all used to a Panto being based on some famous tale: Aladdin, Cinderella, Snow White e.t.c. so I was massively intrigued by a Panto with a title and potentially a premise that I didn’t know about. Of course all the same elements were there; the audience interaction, “HE’S BEHIND YOU!”, the call and response of the tragic yet loveable sidekick, the moment where audience birthday’s are called out and of course, the pantomime Dame and her ever more extreme costumes and lust for… well… men.

However, The Queen of Hearts is to some degree a new story. Following most of the basic pattern, we see a love story between a Prince and a Princess; Jack the side kicked is over looked; The Dame has been widowed and on the search for her next man, yet is the mother to all and finally, the bad guy is only out to destroy the kingdom and support his own cause. But it isn’t as straight forward, when the twists and turns that usually we would see coming as we know the initial story (think of Aladdin will at some point rub the lamp; Cinderella will run away from the ball). It is new. It is shiny. It is fun.

Not a lot of Pantos have live music either. Usually it’s a recording or if they are lucky to, they are in the orchestra pit. But, much thanks to the Theatre’s architecture, some to just sheer genius, the small band featured on stage and they were every bit part of the production. From the piano player breaking out of his pit to come and act, to the guitarist laughing at every joke, corpse moment and funny improv, them and along with the other performers who clearly loved every moment on stage and had liberty to change slightly and corpse, showing that they loved it as much as the audience.

My only grumble was the absence of two distinctive Panto parts – the throwing of sweets (ok, Covid!) and the song and dance when they are randomly in the woods and sing a song to keep the Ghosts away; slowly being picked off one by one. Sadly, I waited for this bit and it never came. I love the ridiculousness of it and how it never fits in with the story and it was just a shame that it wasn’t in this particular production.

The Queen of Hearts is a fresh and exciting take on the traditional Christmas staple. It keeps to all the things we expect but adds something new and refreshing to the age old tradition.

Hands up who grew up with Stockard Channing on your screens as Rizzo in Grease? I think anyone alive today remembers this stunning and fabulous woman, gracing our screens wherever we turn. And i’m sure she is sick of us pointing her out for this and only this.

This is where, Stockard Channing, shows that she is not just Rizzo.

Night, Mother, by Marsha Norman is set in a little farm house in the USA. A unusual evening, a mother and daughter spend time together, chewing the fat, but when Jesse, the daughter (Rebecca Night) drops a big bombshell, this chewing the fat turns into a conversation of love, loss, mental health, pain and ultimately a Mother’s love for her daughter.

Firstly, this naturalistic play is utterly captivating. It is simple and yet extremely effective. I felt intrusive, breaking the fourth wall, yet I could have sat and listened to this duo talk to one another for hours. Channing and Night has instant chemistry, that it is actually really hard to believe they are not this Mother and Daughter pair. They somehow show true family love and a bond which lights up the stage and makes your heart ache and miss your own mother.

Night is everything that her character needs to be – traumatic, struggling, proactive and organised. She looks after her mother and organises her life, and as the story unfolds she naturally does things that anyone would in this situation; as she is talking about the most traumatic things, she folds laundry, she puts things away – she is very matter of fact, and that makes the story and her character all the more unnerving.

Channing is the doting mother – she will do anything for her daughter. But she is funny. She’s the mother we all have, who will bend over backwards but can be sarcastic and ridiculous and your heart just warms, but also breaks for her.

The story is inevitable. The premise is set out in front of us and so when the end comes, while we know it is coming, there’s always hope it doesn’t. We hope there is a change. Doesn’t stop it being a surprise when it doesn’t. And we break, along with Channing at this point.

My only criticism is that I would have loved both actors to annunciate more. Such quiet voices for such a big stage. But yet, in a way, completely naturalistic.

Night, Mother is a hard watch. It touches upon difficult topics but at the same time, you are entirely invested in it. It is absolutely heart breaking and Channing and Night’s relationship doesn’t help this emotional reckoning, with how perfect and naturalistic it is.

A mixture of traditional music, mixed with techno, easy but interesting staging and serious topics meeting comedy, Rare Mettle Earth was not what I was expecting.

Set in South America, we see the conflict of Western countries pressurizing the indigenous people to succumb to their needs. The salt of this little area contains lithium which could either help fuel energy saving cars or help the mental health of people during the beginnings of the Covid Pandemic. Both sound, on paper, as very useful and morally sound things to strive for, but those behind the initiatives are not quite so angelic. In comes power play; from both the Western societies and Indigenous societies, of the pressure on the poor and the stereotyping of poorer people being for some reason unintelligent.

I did not know what I was expecting. I do not read about shows beforehand, with concern that it might influence my opinion or give me unconscious bias before even seeing the show. And so a really great part of this play is that it strips away layer after layer, bit by bit, adding to the story, making the plot thicker and mixed with moral dilemmas.

As always, the Royal Court’s design is perfection. Simple, yet effective, the transition between places such as America or the UK to the South American countryside is done minimally but it works. White, blank, modern space is created for the former, with something more earthy and natural for the South American town. You can certainly feel the different in spaces.

Majority of the performers double up characters. I heard a person in the audience say this was confusing. That a differentiation wasn’t bold enough to tell. But I highly disagree. The changes in their appearances while, yes, subtle, the performers themselves were able to perform very different characters and I found it very easy to tell. To me, there were more characters on stage and at no point did I come out of that theatrical reality.

The story is, to some degree, a tough one. There is a sense of being, of place, of something that reminds me a lot of conversations that are current and been going on for years in places such as Aboriginal cultures where the impact of the Western societies have pushed aside the true beings of the land. Often, just for monetary reasons. One story thrown in is that the lithium is helpful to others, that it could be a mega discovery in our fight on Mental Health. The other, to save the planet in the long run, with affordable cars. But both of these people are deeply selfish and deeply flawed. It puts you in a conundrum and makes you think truly about your own morals and opinions on the state of our world.

Rare Earth Mettle is a surprisingly thought provoking and intriguing production. It touches upon centuries, of years of white washed culture and in the deep selfishness of those who seemingly are trying to save us and our planet.

Firstly, a comment on this new theatre. Based around the bottom of Battersea Power Station, I was really impressed to see this new theatre, with its new and inventive décor and friendly staff doing so well and with such a brilliant and versatile space. It was perfect for the show I was about to review.

Boy Out The City is a quirky, comical, heart wrenching and heart warming one man, autobiographical story. Written and performed by Declan Bennett, it is the first show I have seen that is based upon the pandemic. I thought there would be more but maybe they are still in the making. I mention this, as I hope this review highlights that this was the perfect show to return to normality with and really picks up on what most of us felt during the last year. Bennett talks about how he and his partner moved from London to the countryside. With his partner also an actor, he gets invited to a job in the States, while Bennett is left alone in his cottage in the middle of nowhere. Bennett talks about mental health, about the bad habits we all adopted to cope, about loneliness, about sexuality but also about nostalgia and how it makes us who we are.

Bennett’s show is absolutely hilarious. Perfect in execution, not a single falter, high energized and full of information, at times it feels very much like sitting with a friend and talking. He is personable, he is down to earth, and this all helps with telling his story.

While he is funny and picks upon things that were huge parts of the pandemic for many (drinking wine at 2am, sleeping till late, being lonely, nothing to do) he also effortlessly moves this into very serious questions and issues in society such an men’s mental health, of sexuality and growing up denying being gay to fit in and avoid violence. These moments, I wouldn’t say, came out the blue, but when they are slotted in, your smile from the hilarity before has gone, and your heart aches for what he has been through.

He isn’t afraid to touch upon, and negatively, about his past and what he thought at the time. Of the mistakes he made just to fit in and be safe. A story that i’m sure many in this community can associate to. In fact, those who also are not but can identify the things they did, growing up, just to feel a part of the world.

We talk about the Pandemic as being different for everyone. Yes, we went through the same rules and regulations, and while mental health issues went through the roof, as individuals, we all coped differently. Bennett is clever and picks up on the ones that he did that we can relate to, and therefore a good chunk of his comedy is laughing at the relatable nature and all we saw and heard during the last year.

He uses the stage well – different points highlight the different parts of his story, from the cottage, to his neighbour, to the bar on St Patrick’s Day, even to his past. Minimal set and props are used but they are effective. Nothing is there just for the sake of it. And I loved this. All too easy do theatre makers find props and set upon props and set to fill a room, when it isn’t needed. I also notice that one person productions also do this, to slightly shy away from their performance. Bennett was loud, he was present, he filled the stage. And that’s one of the many parts that made it perfect. As someone writing their own one woman play, it gave me much food for thought.

Boy Out The City is a cultural revelation after a tough time in the World. It is raw, it is emotional, it is absolutely hilarious and it is essential.

Please do look out for this production which aims to have future life across the country.