JACK AND THE BEANSTALK AT THE CAPITOL

Published on 1st January 2025
Audiences flocked to The Capitol in Horsham to watch Jack and the Beanstalk over the festive period. AAH met Venue and Productions Manager Matthew Effemey to hear his thoughts on the pantomime’s success and find out the latest on a major refurbishment project scheduled at the theatre…
This year’s panto was well received by audiences. Was it also a Box Office hit?
At any regional theatre, the success of a pantomime depends largely on the reception to the previous year’s show. For the past few years, we’ve staged a very good production, but 2023’s Beauty and the Beast raised the bar considerably. I feel that we might have just raised it again. Advanced ticket sales were very strong and only a few days into the run, Jack and the Beanstalk became the best-selling pantomime ever staged at The Capitol. Back in 2009, we welcomed 16,099 people when CBeebies presenter Justin Fletcher starred in Cinderella. Since then, audience figures have typically dropped to around the 12,000 level, but last year we bucked that trend and 15,000 people watched the panto. This year, we needed to add several dates at the end of the run as by opening night we only had tickets left for performances in January!
What’s the secret behind this success?
We are steadily trying to build a brand for excellent in-house productions at The Capitol. When it comes to pantomime season, some theatres work with production companies, who have their own team of writers, actors, sets and costumes. They are very professional, but sets arrive in the back of a lorry and they can sometimes look dated, or need adapting to your own venue. The alternative is that you do everything in-house, which is the approach we now take. For several weeks in the summer, we bring in carpenters to work alongside Set Designer Jack Lane, Costume Designer Reah Butterly and our own production team to build sets and design props for the show. Audiences at the HAODS production in the autumn would never have known, but set pieces we use in pantomime were hanging up above the stage as there was nowhere else to store them! Jack is a seasoned actor and has written and starred in his own productions, including Wisdom of a Fool, so he has created wonderful sets bursting with colour. It has taken a Herculean effort but audiences notice the difference and it makes for a far better show.
Is the script written in-house too?
We are not Jacks of all trades, so we work with professional writers, which helps us to shape jokes that will be appreciated by Horsham audiences. This year’s script was penned by Jon Monie, who has written award-winning pantomimes for Bath’s Theatre Royal, where has he also presented comedies and Christmas-themed productions. Working with talented writers costs money but pays dividends at the Box Office. There are some great jokes for the grown-ups that are smart rather than crude, and sail over the heads of children. The comedy also comes from many different places, perhaps most notably through Genevieve Nicole’s performance as Dolly the Cow. We veered away from the traditional interpretation of a panto cow and turned it into a more central role with lots of narrative and singing. It worked well and Genevieve was fantastic, perhaps getting the best audience reception of the cast.

John Partridge stars as the villain, but also makes his directorial debut. How did that come about?
Last year, we cast John as Captain Gastoff in Beauty and the Beast. It was clear very early in the run that audiences adored him and he really took to Horsham too. We were barely halfway through the run when he mentioned that he would be interested in directing a pantomime. I spoke to people who have worked with him in the past and they all felt he had the necessary qualities, so we dined out in town, discussed ideas and decided to give it a go. He is a stage veteran and of course spent eight years in EastEnders. But perhaps more importantly, he is incredibly hard-working and if your company see you working hard, they will feel compelled to do likewise. I have never seen a cast so well-rehearsed on an opening night. It has been like a military operation and that’s down to John’s professionalism.
Horsham seems to have adopted John as one of its own…
He is certainly infectious and popular, even claiming the honour of turning on the town’s Christmas lights! In the summer, the Friends of Horsham Hospital approached us to ask John if he might open the hospital’s Summer Fete. This was far beyond his contractual responsibilities, but he didn’t hesitate in stepping up, which says a lot about the man. As well as being a personality, which a panto needs to sell tickets, he is genuinely talented and even presented a one-man music and dance show at The Capitol in the spring. Often, panto stars are sent on to the stage for a few lines and then disappear as they can’t sing, can’t dance and haven’t rehearsed like the jobbing actors around them! Johnny is not like that. He is good for sales but elevates the entire production.
You had a small but very talented cast…
We were lucky, as John has worked in the industry for many years and people are eager to work with him, especially when he is directing. There is what’s known as ‘panto snobbery’ and some actors avoid the format entirely, which can cause some casting headaches. However, we recruited a young and talented cast, including Archie Durrant (a recent graduate of Laine Theatre Arts) as Jack Trott and Emma Lindars, who has one of the best voices in musical theatre. Her opening solo number, Once Upon A Time, set a very high standard for the rest to try and follow. Johnny and I visited Bird College Conservatoire of Dance and Musical Theatre, which he once attended, looking for ensemble dancers. One of those auditioning was Taziva-Faye Katsande, who was only 16 at the time. She could not only dance and tap, but had a great voice and we both thought that she had huge potential and cast her in a principal role as Princess Jill.
The voice of the Giant sounded familiar?
In an uncredited role, the Giant is voiced by Romesh Ranganathan. We have a good relationship with a relative of Romesh and his boys have appeared in previous pantomimes, so we asked the question and he said yes! Romesh came to us to record his parts and was happy taking direction from Johnny, doing exactly as he was asked. He was the ultimate professional and very funny. Everyone at the Capitol is a big fan of Romesh so it was great to have him on board.

What is the latest regarding the Capitol’s refurbishment?
Currently, it is still uncertain although we anticipate news in the New Year. The Council had a budget for improvements and selected a contractor to carry out the work. The contractor later notified the Council that it had recalculated the costs involved and the work would be much more costly than previously expected. HDC correctly decided to re-evaluate, as the Council cannot go over budget on a project funded by taxpayers. The scale of the project may need to be revised and once again decided by local Councillors. In terms of the most important aspects of the refurbishment, the Council is keen to make the Capitol more environmentally-friendly as it bids to
become carbon neutral, so the installation of air-sourced heat pumps was a major factor behind the initial refurbishment. From an aesthetic perspective, the seats are close to end-of-life and need replacing, as do carpets that were laid 20 years old. It was originally proposed that the theatre would close for 18 months while work was carried out. It might be a shorter closure now, depending on what the Council agrees. However, we’re lucky to have a Council willing to invest in the arts, through the theatre and events staged in the town centre, as many local authorities do not show the same commitment.
Will there be a Capitol panto next year?
We are now committed to staging a pantomime next year. Even when we were talking about a long-term closure, there was always hope that we could still find the time for a panto, as it’s so important to the venue. Next December, we will be staging Robin Hood. Although we’ll be adding another week to the run in the hope of improving this year’s record attendances, we still advise people to book early, especially if they want to see it before Christmas.
Will John Partridge be returning?
It is too soon to say! Horsham audiences love him, but how many times can one actor return as a star before people need a change? When we first worked with John, he had just taken a break from performing after throat surgery, but he has since returned to his best and enjoyed a resurgence. It wouldn’t surprise me if one of the major pantomime producers knocked on his door with a cheque book, and he might be looking for a new challenge elsewhere too. But certainly, he is very fond of Horsham and we’re very fond of him, so we’ll see.
INTERVIEW: Ben Morris/ PHOTOS: Brinkhoff-Moegenburg & Alan Wright