Jack and The Beanstalk Pantomime Script Spotlight
Photo: Burneside Amateur Theatrical Society
The panto you’ve BEAN waiting for!
Jack and the Beanstalk is one of those titles where the set piece writes itself, which is both its strength and its challenge. The beanstalk has to grow, the giant has to be enormous, and audiences know exactly what's coming. Our version spends the time before the beanstalk goes up building a world worth caring about: Dame Trot runs the farm with her two sons and a cow called Pat who has strong opinions about milking stools, and the threat from above comes not just from Giant Blunderbore but from his mother, Mrs Blunderbore, who collects the Giant Tax and is considerably more menacing for being entirely reasonable about it. Once they get to the top of the beanstalk, the script delivers everything audiences came for. Getting there is equally good.
Synopsis
The kingdom of Muddlebrook is being squeezed by Giant Blunderbore's ever-increasing taxes, and when the giant threatens to marry Princess Jill unless the kingdom pays up, things become considerably more urgent. Jack Trot, a farm boy with more courage than sense, ends up in possession of some magic beans, a growing beanstalk, and a plan that nobody else is entirely convinced by.
Dame Trot wants her son back safely. Princess Jill would very much like to not marry a giant. Rowena Ratzi, the Royal Reporter, is covering all of it live. And Mrs Blunderbore would like everyone to know that double tax was, all things considered, quite generous.
This really is a Giant of a panto!
Photo: St Bernadette's Parish Players
What the script looks like in practice
Mrs Blunderbore explains the Giant's terms:
Mrs Blunderbore: 'If you don't pay the new tax and provide his lunch… he's going to marry the Princess.'
King: 'But he can't marry Princess Jill, I just won't allow it.'
Mrs Blunderbore: (Dismissively) 'You don't get a say in the matter.'
Who this script suits
Jack and the Beanstalk scales well. The core cast is manageable for a smaller group, with the bean-sprite ensemble and monster scenes giving a larger company real opportunity in the second act. Pat the cow is a two-person physical comedy role that works in almost any space and tends to be a consistent audience favourite. The beanstalk itself can be as elaborate or as simple as your staging allows, and the script includes practical notes on how to make it work in venues without trap doors. Groups who want a classic title with a properly structured villain in Mrs Blunderbore, someone the audience can genuinely boo rather than just the giant's disembodied voice, will get a lot from this one.
What groups have said
‘This year’s panto, Jack and the Beanstalk, was amazing. A brilliant show that had us laughing the whole way through!’ - Southern Cross Theatre Company on Jack and the Beanstalk
Request your free Perusal Script
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