There are many things that regular attendees expect the Everyman Theatre’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto to be, but a satirical commentary on the resurgence of toxic masculinity is probably not one of them. Nevertheless, that’s what they’ll get as part of the 2024 offering, a Rapunzel that has somehow breathed new life into this festive Liverpool institution while retaining enough of the old staples to keep nostalgia fans happy.
In this Rapunzel, arch misogynist hairdresser Danny Ruff (Zoe West), the self-proclaimed “manliest manny man in all mankind”, is keeping Rapunzel (Ai Kumar) hostage in order to exploit the magical powers of her hair to boost business at his salon Man For It. Meanwhile, Fairy Fixer-Upper – Everyman panto lifer Adam Keast – is trying to rescue the flagging fortunes of rival hairdresser Debbie Updo (Michael Starke). A hapless prince, Timotei Shinymane, played with comic verve by Ben Boskovic, is galloping around trying to rescue the hairstyles of his Wallasey subjects. While all this verges on outright confusing for moments in the second half, generally the whole thing is exactly as nonsensical as you’d hope.
Michael Starke as Debbie Updo in The Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto Rapunzel © Marc Brenner
And yet compared to previous iterations, this panto feels (in strictly relative terms you understand) a little more nuanced and paired back. The dialogue-to-music ratio is higher, though there are still plenty of singalong tunes including Don’t Stop Me Now, Don’t Look Back in Anger and the Natasha Bedingfield track Unwritten, which seems to be having a revival among primary school children. The staging has been updated, with multiple screens adding just a hint of high tech. But it is West as Ruff who both steals the show and makes it feel most of the moment.
While written before the re-election of Trump, Ruff’s triumphant declaration that, despite some recent setbacks such as boys showing their feelings, men are “back” (with a King on the stamps and Oasis reformed – “dynamic pricing forever!”) feels like a much-needed lampooning of an all too prominent zeitgeist. As he battles to take over the hairdressing world, starting with “all the other units in St John’s market”, this machismo only becomes more ridiculous, particularly in contrast with the sweetness and solidarity of other characters including Debbie Updo’s feckless assistant Trevor (Tomi Ogbaro). Trevor’s attempt to do “full throttle death burpies” in a bid to reassure Ruff that a party at the salon was in fact a manly “boot camp” had younger audience members guffawing loudly.
So did much of the rest of this charming, big-hearted production. It is a skilful art indeed to change while staying the same. Rapunzel, of all the recent iterations of the Rock ‘n’ Roll panto, is the most different. And yet so familiar. Here, among friends, we can boo “Liverpool’s most successful manfluencer” and be reassured that in the end, even he will be singing Blame it on the Boogie and sharing his emotions. Happy days.
Main image: Ai Kumar as Rapunzel in The Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto Rapunzel © Marc Brenner
Rapunzel is at the Everyman, Liverpool until January 18, 2024. For more information, click here.
