Adult Panto is alive and well in London: BrickLane Music Hall Published TIME AND LEISURE MAGAZINE
Jack and His Giant Stalk
Brick Lane Music Hall
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Adult pantomime is not a genre I instinctively gravitate towards. Growing up Irish, it simply wasn’t part of the cultural fabric in the same way it is in Britain. That distance, however, made my visit to Jack and His Giant Stalk at Brick Lane Music Hall all the more interesting. From the moment the overture struck up, it was clear this audience knew exactly where they were and what they’d come for and were ready to play their part.
The demographic skewed older, with an average age somewhere between 40 and 70, though there were also families and older teenagers (the show is adult-leaning rather than explicit), along with a smattering of audience members who had dressed up for the occasion. What united them was familiarity. This was a crowd deeply at ease with the rhythms of panto: the call-and-response, the knowing groans at the many ‘dad jokes’, and the gleeful cries of “Oh no he didn’t” and “Oh yes he did”. Participation wasn’t optional; it was central to the experience.
If the show has a star, it’s arguably the venue itself. Brick Lane Music Hall is housed in the vast former St Mark’s Church, a Victorian Gothic building converted into a dinner-theatre space with velour drapes, atmospheric lighting, and a surprising sense of warmth. A giant stuffed bear greets guests at the entrance, while glass cases are dotted throughout the communal areas, housing vintage costumes and other Music Hall memorabilia. Despite its scale, the space feels homely rather than grand: the opposite of West End polish, and deliberately so. There are no airs or graces here — just a strong sense of welcome and community.
Dinner is part of the package. A three-course meal is served before the show, catering to a large seated audience; around 120 constitutes a full house. The food is safe and standard, not the reason you come, but arguably exactly what you want in this context. It fuels the evening without distracting from it. Brick Lane Music Hall is not a dining destination; it is, more accurately, a theatre that feeds you.
The production itself is brisk and colourful, with several genuinely hilarious moments. One standout came in a song themed around “If I wasn’t in panto”, in which cast members imagined alternative careers, accompanied by precisely timed, rhythmic movement. Even during Dry January, and without alcohol, it was side-splitting — delivered with the confidence of performers who know their audience inside out.
Andrew Robley’s Dame Fanny Trott is a feat of stamina and spectacle, clocking up more than 20 costume changes, each more elaborate than the last. For a small-scale production, the costume design is exceptional and deserves explicit credit. The labour and imagination involved are unmistakable, consistently drawing gasps and applause.
Charlotte Fage’s Poison Ivy was another highlight, bringing sharp comic timing and strong stage presence, while the live musicians deserve praise for their skill and energy, which elevated the entire production. There is also a certain charm in the rough edges: fluffed lines, moments of ad-libbing, and the occasional scene-stealing intervention from rogue performer Willy, played by Vincent Hayes MBE, who founded Brick Lane Music Hall in 1992 and later received an MBE for services to British music hall.
What Jack and His Giant Stalk offers, above all, is reassurance. There is a faint cruise-ship quality to the evening (some performers have worked in that world), but this is not an insult. Rather, it speaks to professionalism and an understanding of entertainment as a service. Audiences return because they know what they’re getting and because they know they’ll be looked after.
The only real drawback is the location. Despite the name, Brick Lane Music Hall is no longer in Brick Lane. It sits out near Silvertown, close to London City Airport. There is a large car park on site, which explains how many audience members arrive, but public transport requires more commitment, particularly in bad weather. That said, Custom House on the Elizabeth line now connects the venue efficiently to the rest of London, once you know the route.
In the end, this is great, niche entertainment. You might come for the performances or simply to experience the venue itself, which is otherworldly. The fact that you are fed and watered is a bonus. Even for a pantomime sceptic, it’s easy to understand why audiences return time and again.
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