With a show so full of beans, it is not hot air to declare that Hackney's Jack and the Beanstalk must surely be the best panto in town. The Old Vic may have Ian McKellen and the New Wimbledon a couple of Shetland ponies, but nothing beats the combination of Clive Rowe - an outsized actor with an outsized personality - as Dame Daisy Trot, and a spotted pantomime cow called Buttercup.
When poverty and the demands of the giant's Rachman-style rent-collector Runner Bean, declare that Buttercup must be sold, the pair's leave-taking courtesy of Harry Nilsson's I Can't Live brings a tear to the eye. The moment is possibly only topped by Rowe's triumphant arrival at the top of the beanstalk singing Climb Every Mountain.
Modern panto often feels a slightly cynical form, an easy cash cow for theatres who simply have to go through the motions and stick to the formula in order to milk the profits. But Hackney's show - due very much to the warm presence of Rowe - has real heart and soul. Even on a Tuesday night in a half- empty theatre the place lights up. On a full Saturday matinee I would imagine that the experience is electric.
The success owes much to a Susie McKenna script that goes for character as much as the traditional jokes and spectacle. Michael Kirk's Runner Bean looks like the Child-Catcher and is so evil he makes you shiver and smile, and as Off Her Trolly Molly and Silly Billy, Tameka Empson and Terel Nugent are a great double act that only a prescription for Ritalin could subdue. The backstory about the giant's wife is a touch confusing, and while I can understand why McKenna didn't want to kill off her giant (a monster of theatrical invention) it rather robs the story of a satisfying resolution.
Like most pantomimes, the show needs trimming, particularly in the second half. But just go with the flow and you'll have a gas.
· Until January 7. Box office: 020-8985 2424.
