Detailed report of Panto "Jack and the Beanstalk" with John & Greg Barrowman in Glasgow

[dieastra]

So it happened that the first Panto I ever saw was with a Barrowman, but not THE Barrowman. Surely you all heard by now that on Friday afternoon John fell off a (real!) horse during the show, had to be taken to hospital and got replaced by (the son of) his cousin. I already wrote a bit and posted a picture of me with Greg Barrowman hereStill we all

Comments

[lbfmusic]

Thanks for posting this. Being on the other side of the pond is kind of lame sometimes!

I love when you post pics with John!

[dieastra]

Wow you're already finished reading? You are quite fast! Hope it can give at least an impression. Maybe one day you can come over.

We met some people from the US but with John and his health it's always a hit and miss. Somehow something always happens with panto. I would've been very sad if I had not gotten to see him.

The picture was taken on Saturday evening where honestly I did not expect him to do any signings or pictures, I think nobody woud've been angry if he just left in his car (as he did on Sunday). Especially as there were a lot of people. But he offered and so I took one of my friend with him and then thought, why not. I have mixed emotions now though wondering whether he was in a lot of pain at the time :(

[cowgrrl]

Thank you so much for the incredibly detailed description of the panto. I first saw John in panto in January 2008, and before then I had no idea what I had been missing! (I live in the US where we don't have panto.) I've been over twice more but didn't make it this year or the year before. It's a long way to travel and I just can't always go, but I'm really REALLY hoping to be there next year, wherever he performs.

I'm so glad you got to see both Greg and John. It must have been so interesting to compare the two. And how nice of John to pose for a picture of you at the stage door!

[dieastra]

You're welcome! I was so excited, I had to get it all out of my head anyway before I was able to sleep

[cowgrrl]

The first panto I saw was in Birmingham, and yes it was Alladin. Trust me, it doesn't matter what story is being told, if John Barrowman is involved it's going to be hilarious! No, there wasn't a cow. I think the one you saw is the only one with a cow. I wish I could have been there for it!

The 2008 performance was the first time I ever saw John perform, and it's the experience that turned me into the devoted fan I am today. Before that he was just "that guy on Torchwood and Doctor Who" to me. I needed to see him live to see the true extent of his talent, and I was astounded at how well he treated the fans at the stage door.

Here is a link to my LJ entry about that experience: http://cowgrrl.livejournal.com/311966.html

[yoonzena]

Thank you so much for posting! I wonder how insurance people let John sit on people with his kilt over their head, what if someone bit him on the bum? I'm sure if it happened to me, I wouldn't be able to control myself :-) I hear that Greg did a good job of jumping right into John's shoes. I wonder if in 20 years' time he'll drop the niceties and let people get under his kilt as well :-)
The scene where Janet's wig got off under John's kilt has my head splitting open from abundance of all sorts of images :-)

[dieastra]

You are very welcome! I am so sorry for all my friends because any description can not be as good as really seeing it live. And I am sorry for myself that I did not believe my friends earlier how much fun it was and missed the previous years.

LOL at first I thought you were going to say "I wonder how insurance people could let John sit on a horse" but yeah, what you write sounds dangerous as well ;) I really wonder what it feels like under the kilt. A friend of mine got "kilted" as well and it made his evening. I was not there to see it though.

I'm sure if Greg spends more time with John he might catch a thing or two for later ;)

Yes, the wig, we laughed so much. That definitely wasn't planned and it also never got repeated. I hear with other stuff (like Janette wetting John's undies) it was an accident at first, but then they did include it into the show.

I'm just correcting the entry, there are a few typos left, but I was in a hurry to get it all out of my head, otherwise I would have not been able to sleep!

[badly_knitted]

SQUEEEE! You got a photo with JB!

Glad you had such a great time. You're both well wrapped up, must be cold there!

[dieastra]

The place at the stage door was a bit windy while we waited but overall it was warmer in Glasgow than it was in Germany when we left! I didn't even need my warm winter boots. They have the golf stream nearby, that's why.

And John has to be cautious about his voice of course. We met him first on Thursday afternoon and he complained about not sleeping well and coughing. Little did we know that the next day this would be our least concern! I am so glad that he was not seriously hurt.

Sorry the report became so long, I got a bit carried away there ;) Hope I described everything well and you enjoyed reading.

[badly_knitted]

Writing it all down means you can re-live the experience whenever you want. And yes, it was fun to read since I can't go to see it myself. I always enjoy reading about the things I can't go to because it makes me feel as if I was there, if that makes sense.

[dieastra]

Why can't you go - no time or no money? Are you far away from Glasgow? Maybe we could meet in Cardiff for the next tour?

[owensheart]

Sounds like a wonderful production. and love the photo.

[dieastra]

Thank you! The photo happened the first evening he was back on stage, and we all just wanted to see for ourselves that he really was okay. The show was really great, next time you need to come as well! Didn't you have a child? How old is he/she?

[owensheart]

i do love panto's and no no kids as yet, still trying.