Review: Ian McKellen and John Bishop offer joyous night of panto fun in Mother Goose at the Chichester Festival Theatre

Ian McKellen and John Bishop combine joyously for a night of panto fun – six weeks after Christmas and with barely a kiddie in the audience.

For McKellen it’s an ambition fulfilled, reminding us of the days most of us don’t remember when pantomime toured until Easter; and he shows himself the perfect dame, all manner of expressions – from come-on to indignation – passing endlessly across one of theatre’s most expressive faces.

But maybe in the end, it’s John Bishop’s show, the stand-up giving the night the energy and the oomph the production needs. Bishop wanders on at the start as himself and then plays with the idea that most of us – on seeing him alone and out of costume – will have convinced ourselves that he’s there to tell us that McKellen has dropped dead back stage. Then he tells us what a great night we are going to have… once the audience has shouted him down for mistakenly believing he is in Surrey, not Sussex.

And a fine night certainly ensues. Odd that the political swipes we are promised don’t completely materialise. And the energy companies are quickly dropped as the villain of the piece. It sets out to be in the moment, then loses interest. But Bishop certainly gets the laughs and McKellen brings the house down, applauded at the start simply for being Ian McKellen and adored all the way through.

Anna-Jane Casey is terrific as a magical goose, and what a fabulous voice she has. Excellent too from Oscar Conlon-Morrey, bringing huge charisma to the role of Jack.

But does the show convince that it is perfectly possible to enjoy panto all the year round? Well, yes and no. This is a great fun show but it’s the Christmas connection that takes panto to the next level. The magic comes in big part from the time of year – which is almost certainly why the magic isn’t quite here tonight.

This is certainly panto which offers panto in the broadest sense, but the tingle was lacking on a cold, cold night in February – partly also because the staging is pretty dull. Maybe there’s accommodation going on for the switch to Chichester’s thrust stage, but there’s no escaping the fact that we are mostly looking at people standing amid emptiness, with just village-hall style backdrops behind them.

For panto, you want the oooh; you want the ahhh; you want the gasp; you want the beauty. Panto has got to look entrancing every now and again. Here the staging is actually quite unattractive – which is a big point against the production.

A huge point in favour of it, though, is the spirit with which it is all delivered. McKellen brings his own magic especially when sending himself up as he takes Mother Goose on her own misguided search for fame and adulation; and Bishop is superb, especially at evincing sympathy and in the “search for some kids and bring them on the stage” scene. His manner with the youngsters is lovely, and the Sweet Caroline sing-along is terrific. And don’t forget Casey’s vocals – superb, especially at the end.

But a late start to the show and an over-long interval helped the whole thing seem too long. Above all, though, there’s just no getting away from the fact: just as you wouldn’t want hot-cross buns on Christmas Day or Christmas crackers on May Bank Holiday, panto outside Christmas throws away a big part of what makes panto so special.