mother goose pantomime tour dates

Ian McKellen Emerges From Giant Gold Egg to Reveal New Role as ‘Mother Goose’ in Pantomime Production

Two-time Oscar nominee Ian McKellen will star as Mother Goose in the pantomime this Christmas.

By K.J. Yossman

K.J. Yossman

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Ian McKellen , two-time Oscar nominee, Tony award-winner and recipient of a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II, is set to appear in a pantomime production of “Mother Goose” this winter.

McKellen announced the news on Monday morning in central London by emerging from a giant gold egg alongside comedian John Bishop, who will also be starring in the production. Former “Great British Baking Show” host Mel Giedroyc (pictured above, holding McKellen’s hand) will also appear.

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Hatching a plan. I'll tell you about it tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/HwAGabTQqf — Ian McKellen (@IanMcKellen) October 2, 2022

“Mother Goose,” which is written by Jonathan Harvey (“Coronation Street”) and directed by Cal McCrystal (“Inside No. 9”), will launch at the Theatre Royal Brighton at the beginning of December before moving to the West End and then embarking on a four-month tour around the U.K.

This will not be the first panto performance for McKellen, who is perhaps best known for his roles as Gandalf in the original Lord of the Rings trilogy and Magneto in the X-Men films. He appeared in a pantomime production of “Aladdin” for two consecutive Christmases, in December 2004 and December 2006, playing Widow Twankey.

Pantomimes are considered a British institution, often taking place around the Christmas period. They are usually based on traditional children’s fairytales such as “Jack and the Beanstalk” or “Cinderella” and often feature at least one character in drag.

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Mother Goose – The Nation’s Pantomime

Mother Goose The Nation's Pantomime – the first panto to tour the country has now concluded. Sign up to our Touring Alerts and we'll let you know if the show returns next year.

MOTHER GOOSE PANTO TOUR

This tour has now concluded.

Official Website: http://mothergooseshow.co.uk

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IAN MCKELLEN stars as MOTHER GOOSE

The whole nation is flocking to see Ian McKellen and John Bishop as they join forces to bring you a hilarious family-friendly panto.

Mother Goose is the ultimate theatrical feast – full of fun, farce and surprises that will make you honk out loud.   

WHAT IS MOTHER GOOSE ABOUT?

Meet Mother Goose (McKellen) and her husband Vic (Bishop). Running an Animal Sanctuary for waifs and strays, they live a wholesome life inside an abandoned Debenhams.

But when a magical goose comes a-knocking, will fame & fortune get the better of them?!

Will Ma’s feathers get ruffled? Will Pa tell everyone to get stuffed?! And is their humble life about to turn fowl?

Get ready for fairies with hefty vocal chords, puppets with tap dance qualifications and impeckably constructed mayhem that will quack up the whole family.

Book your Mother Goose tickets today to secure your chance to see Ian McKellen and John Bishop in panto.

It’s going to be honkers!

MOTHER GOOSE CAST - UK TOUR

Ian McKellen as Mother Goose and John Bishop as Vic Goose. Photo credit Manuel Harlan.

Casting is as follows: 

• Mother Goose – Ian McKellen
• Vic Goose – John Bishop
• Cilla the Goose– Anna-Jane Casey
• Jack – Oscar Conlon-Morrey
• Jill – Simbi Akande
• Evil Fairy Malignia – Sharon Ballard
• Good Fairy Encanta – Karen Mavundukure

The company also includes Adam Brown , Gabriel Fleary , Richard Leeming ,   Genevieve Nicole, Mairi Barclay, Becca Francis, Shailan Gohil and Laura Tyrer.

Written by  Jonathan Harvey Directed by Cal McCrystal 

SIR IAN McKELLEN & JOHN BISHOP DISCUSS MOTHER GOOSE

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• Northampton
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Duke of York's Theatre

Mother goose.

Live at the Duke of York's Theatre

Book Mother Goose At Duke of York's Theatre, London

The whole nation is flocking to see  ian mckellen  and  john bishop  as they join forces to bring you a hilarious family-friendly panto. mother goose  is the ultimate theatrical feast - full of fun, farce and surprises that will make you honk out loud..

‍ Meet Mother Goose ( McKellen ) and her husband Vic ( Bishop ). Running an Animal Sanctuary for waifs and strays, they live a wholesome life inside an abandoned Debenhams. But when a magical goose comes a-knocking, will fame & fortune get the better of them?!  Will Ma’s feathers get ruffled? Will Pa tell everyone to get stuffed?! And is their humble life about to turn fowl? Get ready for fairies with hefty vocal chords, puppets with tap dance qualifications and impeckably constructed mayhem thatwill quack up the whole family.  From the imaginations of Jonathan Harvey ( Coronation Street, Gimme, Gimme, Gimme ) and Cal McCrystal  ( ‘Britain’s funniest director’ Guardian ) comes the MOTHER of all pantos – so don’t be a goose.  Book your  Mother Goose  tickets today and get ready for take-off!

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'Mother Goose' review — Ian McKellen leads a megawatt pantomime for the ages

Not every theatre actor would continue working into his 80s but here’s Ian McKellen , who turns 84 in May, returning yet again to the stage at a time in life when many of his colleagues might prefer simply to rest. Not for the screen’s Gandalf and Magneto a further foray into the Shakespeare repertoire (Hamlet, Lear, his Bard-heavy solo show) that has kept him busy of late.

This time round, “Serena” – as the show campily and affectionately renames its internationally renowned star – is donning a variety of body-hugging outfits, outré wigs and the like to play Caroline Goose, aka the bosomy Mother Goose that gives Jonathan Harvey’s buoyant West End panto its title. The show, joyously directed by Cal McCrystal, of One Man, Two Guvnors renown, is not to be confused with the concurrent entertainment of the same name at the Hackney Empire and starring Clive Rowe.

The references come thick and fast, from Harry and Meghan to past and present Tory grandees, musical theatre excerpts ranging from A Chorus Line 's “One” to “Don’t Rain On My Parade”, McKellen’s megawatt grin all the while powering an altogether giddy evening: the actor looks as if he’s having the time of his life and the expert ensemble around him gleefully, on occasion recklessly follow his lead: Oscar Conlon-Morrey’s sweet Jack – here given his own Jill – shares in some untamed tongue action that has to be seen to be believed.

Presiding over an animal sanctuary that was once a Debenhams department store, this Mother Goose isn’t the fairy tale figure of panto lore but a fame-seeking comic ringleader. Wife to John Bishop’s entirely adorable Vic Goose (“I love this man,” McKellen says in passing of his stage spouse), the eponymous waterfowl indulges innuendo about “greasing the bottom” and “raw materials” and meta-reflections on becoming a “mega-global superstar”.

There’s a nod toward political rebellion in a plot strand involving non-payment to the utilities that are making this winter a challenge for so many. We’re urged to jeer “the energy company” every time that phrase is spoken, and the show’s Boris Johnson out-snouts, to coin a verb, Peppa the Pig.

The script reminds us of McKellen’s own origins, age 8, discovering panto at the Grand Theatre in his native Lancashire town of Bolton. But it also whooshes into the here and now to accommodate COVID-era super-spreader events – and droll aspersions in the direction of the Palladium offering across town just now with Julian Clary. That Jack and the Beanstalk is Goose’s main rival in this year’s celebrity-panto sweepstakes.

I’ve seen McKellen tread similar terrain before, as the Widow Twankey in the Old Vic’s Aladdin nearly 20 years ago. But his game participation on that occasion didn’t prepare me for the breadth of double entendres this time out (a deadpan mention, for instance, of “tossing in my sleep”) or his ability to still the house with Portia’s “quality of mercy” speech from The Merchant of Venice ; we soon find that Bishop, a long-established staple of the comedy circuit, can navigate his way just fine through Shakespearean verse, as well.

Liz Ascroft’s sets and costumes suggest a touring production – the show travels the UK and Ireland into April - that has spent proper money on its visuals. A sumptuous vertical bed allows for beneath-the-duvet hijinks whilst headgear finds Camilla Parker Bowles (Genevieve Nicole, fabulous) struggling to navigate an outsized hat through a too-low doorway. Mama Goose’s post-interval sartorial parade extends to a mop-like tray table atop McKellen’s head that is itself a thing of wonder.

The prevailing good nature grants a change of heart to the resident baddie, Malignia ( X Factor alumna Karen Mavundukure, in sprightly form). Elsewhere, a clarion-voiced Cilla Quack (yes, you read that right) gets a Les Mis -style imprisonment followed soon by the ability of the protean Anna-Jane Casey, playing Cilla, to give us her best Barbra Streisand. Casey, seen this time last year in the ongoing West End revival of Cabaret , is once again indispensable.

The show may feel freeform, even anarchic, but courses with an abiding respect for theatrical tradition: Peter Pan, we’re informed, premiered at this same theatre in 1904, and Judi Dench and Derek Jacobi are foregrounded every bit as readily as the music of ABBA, Sunset Boulevard, and the World Cup.

By the time the climactic singalong arrives to the familiar tune of “Sweet Caroline,” the audience is nodding as one to the lyric, “good times never seemed so good”. The world may be a dark and often difficult place, but lucky are we to be transported via Gooseland Airways to a rapture-inducing realm of sheer and total bliss.

Mother Goose is at the Duke of York's Theatre through 29 January. Book Mother Goose tickets on London Theatre.

Photo credit: Ian McKellen and John Bishop (Photo by Manuel Harlan)

Originally published on Dec 19, 2022 10:18

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Mother Goose: How to see Sir Ian McKellen in panto in London this Christmas

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Sir Ian McKellen is set to star in his first-ever pantomime this winter, alongside comedians John Bishop and Mel Giedroyc .

The 83-year-old Olivier Award-winning actor will play Mother Goose, while Bishop will play her husband, Vic.

In the panto, they run an animal sanctuary for waifs and strays. But their lives are turned upside down when they meet a magical goose, played by Giedroyc.

The pantomime will open in Brighton before heading to London over the Christmas period, then moving to Liverpool and Oxford in the new year. Find out how to buy tickets to Mother Goose below.

Mother Goose dates and cities

• Theatre Royal Brighton, December 3-11, 2022
• London’s Duke of York’s Theatre, December 15, 2022-January 29, 2023
• Liverpool Empire, February 28-March 4, 2023
• New Theatre Oxford, March 7-11, 2023

Mother Goose tickets and prices

Tickets for Mother Goose range from £13 to £170 and are being sold via ATG Tickets online.

Groups of 10 or more can submit a request online or call 020 7206 1174.

The panto is in London over the Christmas period, though there are no shows on December 24, 25, or 26, nor January 1 or 2.

What has Sir Ian McKellen said about the panto?

Speaking to the PA news agency at a launch event, Sir Ian said: “It is a serious story told comically. It is about good and bad, and of course, good always triumphs in a pantomime.

“It uses every device theatre can offer. There is singing, there is dancing, there is rhyme, there are jokes, there is sentiment, there is audience participation, there is a man dressed as a woman, a woman dressed as a goose.”

He added: “Everything has gone haywire and it is all for the audience to have a good time. That is the only reason you do it.

“But what intrigues me is that it has come out of this country. And America has never seen a panto, as far as I know.”

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Mother Goose Tickets

Ian McKellen and John Bishop star in this hilarious, panto that’ll have you honking with laughter. Best for age 3+.

Ian McKellen’s honkingly good panto

Sorry this show closed 29 January 2023, we recommend these similar productions.

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Mother goose reviews.

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• 4 Stars 20%

User Reviews

What could be better in January than a star-studded, hilarious panto? It was so funny and clever, and kudos not only to the two leads, but also to the fab cast, whose acting, singing and dancing were top rate. The production, and being so close to th Read more

Ian McKellen relishes this performance and looks like he's loving every second. Every innuendo and double entendre - he works so well with John Bishop & Oscar. This tour will blow the socks off anyone who sees it too.

So much fun! Absolute legend in Sir Ian of course but John Bishop does a great job, Oscar C-M is sensational, as was Anna Casey - and special mention to the King of Gooseland, who certainly stole a big section of the show in the second half!

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Mother Goose

Ian McKellen  and  John Bishop are coming to The Lowry – with a hilarious comedy for all ages that critics have described as “a total hoot” (★★★★★, Broadway World ), “a solid gold hit” (★★★★★,  The Stage ) and absolutely “glorious” (★★★★★,  Daily Telegraph) .

Mother Goose  is a live entertainment spectacle not to be missed – full of fun, musical comedy, star power and surprises that will make you honk out loud. This cheeky fairytale is exactly “the kind of knockabout entertainment that we all need” ( The Times)  and “infectious fun” ( Time Out ) from start to finish.

So scramble for tickets to see two legends of acting & comedy “work beautifully as if they have been a double act for years” ( London Theatre 1),  and get ready for fairies with hefty vocal chords, puppets with tap dance qualifications and impeckably constructed mayhem that will quack up those aged between 3 to 103! Don’t be a goose – book your tickets now.

Press night pics

We had a jam-packed purple carpet for our opening night of Mother Goose! Interested in finding out who attended? Take a sneak peak

Press night photos

“The genius is the pairing of Ian McKellen and John Bishop”

“Pantomime perfection”

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“A megawatt pantomime for the ages.”

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“The genius is the pairing of McKellen and Bishop.”

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The Gaiety Theatre Ayr

Mother Goose

Written by Fraser Boyle and Ken Alexander, writers of the Gaiety’s 2023 five star panto hit ‘Cinderella.’

Mother Goose is a good egg, the most giving of souls – salt of the earth and kind to a fault – she would give you her last ha’penny if you needed it. But when her faultless generosity lands her neck deep in the stinking Ayrshire proverbial, it will take a touch of eggs-ellent panto magic to save her Ayrshire bacon. In these tough times who could turn down a Goose that lays Golden Eggs? But will it really help her, or will it set her down a path towards eggs-treme greed and vanity? You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs after all…

Fraser Boyle plays pantomime’s most famous ‘Dame’, Mother Goose. Join us at the Gaiety for an eggs-citing adventure. Don’t get caught in a last minute scramble for tickets – your brain will be fried – book now to avoid disappointment!

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Past Events

Here are the most recent UK tour dates we had listed for Mother Goose. Were you there?

• Wed 12 Apr → Sun 16 Apr The Bristol Hippodrome Mother Goose Ian McKellen, John Bishop
• Tue 28 Mar → Sat 1 Apr Cardiff, Wales Millennium Centre Mother Goose Ian McKellen, John Bishop
• Tue 7 Mar → Sat 11 Mar New Theatre Oxford Mother Goose Ian McKellen, John Bishop

February 2023

• Tue 28 Feb → Sat 4 Mar Liverpool Empire Theatre Mother Goose Ian McKellen, John Bishop
• Wed 22 Feb → Sun 26 Feb Wolverhampton Grand Theatre Mother Goose Ian McKellen, John Bishop
• Tue 14 Feb → Sat 18 Feb Sheffield, Lyceum Theatre Mother Goose Ian McKellen, John Bishop
• Tue 7 Feb → Sat 11 Feb Chichester Festival Theatre Mother Goose Ian McKellen, John Bishop

December 2022

• Thu 15 Dec → Sun 29 Jan London, Duke of York's Theatre Mother Goose Ian McKellen, John Bishop
• Sat 3 Dec → Sun 11 Dec Brighton, Theatre Royal Mother Goose Ian McKellen, John Bishop

• Adults Children (age under 12) Infants (age under 2)

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Mother Goose

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About This Show

Mother Goose, the side-splitting new pantomime starring Ian McKellen and John Bishop, is flying into theatres this winter. A hilarious and heartwarming story for the whole family to enjoy, this star-studded panto is set to be the show of the season. Book your Mother Goose panto tickets today!

Guaranteeing a gaggle of laughs, the tale of Mother Goose is brought to life by a cast of comedy legends and a stellar creative team, including direction by the award-winning Cal McCrystal.

Flock to see the story of Mother Goose, an animal sanctuary owner who cares for waifs and strays. She may have a good, kind heart, but will the wealth and fame lead her astray once she hits the big time? Expect fairies, foes and gravity-defying poultry in this hilarious new panto.

The show is fronted by Ian McKellen and John Bishop, so prepare for face-aching laughter as they bring their beloved flair to fairytales’ favourite bird. Award-winning writer Jonathan Harvey (Coronation Street, Call the Midwife) joins blockbuster director Cal McCrystal (Paddington, One Man, The World’s End) in a pantomime that’s one for the ages.

Book your Mother Goose tickets today to secure your chance to see Ian McKellen and John Bishop in panto. It’s going to be honkers!

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