WEANS IN THE WOOD | MACROBERT ARTS CENTRE, STIRLING
★★★★
“McKnight is outrageous, flirtatious and naughty, but never threatening…”
There was a time, long, long ago, when pantomime principal boys were played by females. It was tradition. At the end of the tale, that female principal boy would share a chaste kiss with the principal girl – also played by a female – and the pair would live happily ever after. So it was for generations. Then, as teenagers became more knowing, that kiss was increasingly met with unwelcome ‘audience participation’. Consequently, the tradition of the female principal boy disappeared.
Over the 20 years Johnny McKnight has been involved with Macrobert Arts Centre’s annual pantomime, things have certainly changed for the better. In Weans In The Wood, Gretel’s love for Hansel-No-Solo, her best female friend, may be unrequited but not an eye is blinked when she declares it. And when she does finally find happiness with Little Red Riding Hood, the smiles in the auditorium couldn’t be broader. The world has moved on. In Stirling, McKnight’s inclusive approach deserves credit for the part he has played in that mindshift.
Little Red and Gretel’s wedding is just one of three that bring the curtain down on this boisterous reworking of Babes In The Wood, a title seldom performed these days. Written and directed by, as well as starring McKnight, Weans In The Wood is certainly inventive. It opens in Madam Merlina’s School for Magically Gifted Minors, where Hansel-No-Solo is bottom of the class.
Things get worse when Little Red arrives on the scene, robbing Merlina of her recharging wand, just as she is preparing for her annual magical ‘square go’ with the wicked Sheriff of Stirling-Stella-ham, a man intent on taking over the Pantosphere with a special midnight spell? As the clock ticks towards the witching hour… who will save the day?
P.A.N.T.O. – sung to the tune of Chappell Roan’s Hot To Go (with a bit of Pink Pony Club thrown in for good measure), proves a popular opening number and sets energy levels high for what is to come. Sing-a-long catchy, it allows choreographer Stephanie MacDonald to fill Karen Tennent’s spacious, verdant set with movement, to great effect.
Narrated beautifully by Helen McAlpine in a nostalgic storytelling-style evocative of Watch With Mother, the BBC’s forerunner to CBBC, it’s McKnight, however, who provides the backbone of the production as the raspy-toned, man-mad Merlina. In a hilarious and quick-thinking performance that takes him in and out of the audience, he’s in his element ad-libbing as he goes in search of a man. Tonight, it’s Councillor Donald Ballsillie’s shining Chain of Office that catches his eye, and what follows is a pitch perfect demonstration of what a panto dame should be, outrageous, flirtatious and naughty, but never threatening.
If McKnight is the backbone of the piece, then McAlpine is its heart. As Hansel-No Solo she puts in a shift and a half that keeps the laughs coming and the story flowing. Cheeky and cheerful, her comic timing and physicality is second to none and the audience love her for it. She can deliver a song too and has the audience in the palm of her hand from the start.
Good support comes from Dani Heron’s defiant, if somewhat bonkers Little Red, Kara Swinney as the love sick Gretel, and Robert Jack’s bellowing Sheriff Stirling-Stella-Ham. However, a special shout out must also go to the Young Cast, an exuberant ensemble charged with bringing the fairytale creatures of the wood, assorted Goodies and the Magical Minors to life, they all add a youthful vibrance to the production that is heartwarming to see.
With musical numbers ranging from K-pop to disco and even an old Fifties’ favourite, Musical Director Alan Penman hits gold with an inspired act one finale as the whole company are assembled for the most surreal rendition of One Day More from Les Miserables ever staged. A big set piece, magnificently executed, it sees the action once more spill into the audience and gives Robin MacKenzie, who doubles as a sympathetic Big Bad Wolf and Ronaldo, the perfect opportunity to show off some impressive vocals.
In the writing, Weans In The Wood boasts everything a good panto requires, local references, a battle between good and evil, knockabout humour, life affirming messages and fart jokes… loads of fart jokes, all wrapped up in a nicely chaotic energy. Described as a pantomime for ‘the survivors, the dreamers and the fighters’, Weans In The Wood more than lives up to McKnight’s reputation and his ‘speaking truth to power’ approach shines through in this uproarious production that proudly continues to subvert the panto norm.
Run ends 3 January 2026 Tickets HERE
