Connecting professional and amateur theatre in Newbury, West Berkshire and beyond

Oxford Playhouse

Box office

01865 305305
Beaumont Street, Oxford. A map is here. A seating plan is here.

Next

The Hothouse, 1st to 4th February
By Harold Pinter. University of Oxford Student Company Illyria Productions presents this play from the master playwright of the modern era. The raw drama of The Hothouse is hauntingly funny and alarmingly prescient.

'Tis Pity She's a Whore, 7th to 11th February
Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod present a new production of John Ford's Jacobean tragedy. Incest, morality, religion and corruption all make this play as shocking today as it was almost 400 years ago.

Mogadishu, 14th to 18th February
This multi award-winning new play by Vivienne Franzmann won rave five star reviews during its sell-out run at the Lyric Hammersmith. Whether you're a parent, teenager, teacher, or just someone who wants to know what's going on with young people today, Mogadishu is an electrifying night in the theatre that shouldn't be missed.

Mephisto, 22nd to 25th February
Based on the novel by Klaus Mann, Mephisto tells the true story of a revolutionary theatre company during Hitler’s rise to power. This ensemble production from University of Oxford students explores the darkest reaches of human nature.

The Crowstarver, 28th February to 3rd March
Set against the backdrop of the Second World War, action-packed with wonderful puppetry and beautiful live music, The Crowstarver is a heart-warming production that will delight and move audiences of all ages.

Yes, Prime Minister, 5th to 10th March
In a world of spin, BlackBerrys and 'sexed up' dossiers, the PM is staring disaster in the face... The original writers of the classic BBC TV series, Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, have reunited for this anniversary production.

Neighbourhood Watch, 12th to 17th March
Alan Ayckbourn returns to Oxford Playhouse with a hilarious cautionary tale of the dangers of taking the law into your own hands.

Star Quality, 19th to 24th March
With a stellar cast of 12 led by Golden Globe Award-winner Amanda Donohoe, Star Quality is Noël Coward's deliciously funny final play.

Animal Farm, 30th to 31st March
George Orwell's timeless story of rebellion, power, idealism and greed is brought vividly to life by 16|22, Oxford Playhouse's Young Company.

Anything Goes, 11th to 14th April
Musical Youth Company of Oxford is sure to dazzle and entertain with immense amounts of energy and new choreography. Including some of Cole Porter's finest music: Friendship, I Get a Kick Out of You and Anything Goes.

Underneath the Floorboards, 12th to 13th April at Magdalen College School
Filled with original songs and beautiful movement this performance for children and families will feed the imagination, thrill the senses and transport you to a magical world. At Magdalen College School, Cowley Place, Oxford OX4 1DZ.

Blood Wedding, 17th to 21st April
Oxford Theatre Guild returns to the Playhouse bringing life to the lyrical language and dramatic tension of Lorca's tragedy.

Henry V, 8th to 12th May
The Globe Theatre on tour presents Henry V, Shakespeare's masterpiece about the turbulence of war and the arts of peace, on the Playhouse main stage.

Reviews of Mother Goose

2nd December 2011 to 15th January 2012.

Review from the Newbury Weekly News.

It's just too loosey-Goosey

Mother Goose, at the Oxford Playhouse, until January 15

This year's Oxford Playhouse pantomime, Mother Goose, is written and directed by Peter Duncan of Blue Peter fame. However, there is a lack of narrative drive - perhaps because the original story is under-written.

The plot, if there is one, is minimal. A foolish woman, Mother Goose (Chris Larner) has a goose that lays golden eggs, and trades the goose to a witch in return for a beauty treatment. There are a couple of jolly contemporary pop songs. Accents and idioms from Essex and Newcastle are, unfortunately, jokes. The most entertaining moment happened accidentally during a malfunction of Mother Goose's mechanical crying device, forcing Larner to ad-lib. His requests to the audience to use its collective imagination to finish the scene were funny.

Grace writes: the story was very basic but this didn't matter because all the scenes in the pantomime were good. During the panto I went through all the emotions. We met the good fairy and the bad witch before the panto started.

I started off being very excited about the opening scene – a fair. It was very colourful and exciting with lots of singing and dancing. There was a frightening scene when Mother Goose was made beautiful with scary dancers.

Mother Goose, a man really, was on the stage a lot – a mad and funny character that you could easily trick. This is what the wicked witch (Ashleigh Gray) did to get his/her Goose Eldorada (Will Hawksworth). The Goose didn't know if it was a girl or boy – a bit like its mother. But it was a girl because it laid some gold eggs – and a real egg that hatched into a gosling.

It was a funny panto, but I didn't laugh out loud. Mother Goose had a son, Silly Billy (Paul Charlton), who was very good at playing the fool. There's a daughter as well called Jilly (Nicola Stuart-Hill). She was a tomboy (like her mother) until she fell in love with the duke's son (Gary Albert Hughes).

The best bits in the panto were when all the cast on the stage sang and danced together.

JON LEWIS
AND GRACE LEES, AGED 8

There are reviews in The Oxford Times ("a pantomime whose exuberance and professionalism is just so classy"), The Stage ("Mother Goose has its moments, then, but short of those infamous eggs, it isn’t really panto gold"), WhatsOnStage ("the musical interludes were a real highspot this year - with the best choreography I've seen so far" - four stars), The Public Reviews ("the set is colourful and charming and the performances by all the cast are for the most part confident" - four stars), the British Theatre Guide ("a charming Mother Goose full of heart... however, due to its unnecessary stuffing this pantomime goose is not as golden as it could be"), Guide2Oxford ("family fun from start to finish along with having something for everyone throughout the show… simply a pantomime classic at its best!") and the Oxford Mail ("it’s nothing short of that Christmas present you always wanted but never really believed you’d get... production-wise, it is simply breathtaking").

Previous productions

Cinderella, 3rd December 2010 to 16th January 2011
Jack and the Beanstalk, 4th December 2009 to 17th January 2010. See the review in the Archive.
Sleeping Beauty, 5th December 2008 to 18th January 2009. See the review in the Archive.
Aladdin, 30th November 2007 to 13th January 2008. See the review in the Archive.
Dick Whittington, 1st December 2006 to 14th January 2007. See the review in the Archive.
Cinderella, December 2005. See the review in the Archive.
Guys and Dolls, by Oxford Operatic Society, 21st to 26th November 2005. See the review in the Archive.
Peter Pan, December 2004. See the review in the Archive.

For more details

see the Playhouse's web site at www.oxfordplayhouse.com.