Christmas panto season comes early as Gandalf star thrills Bristol audience as Mother Goose

At the age of 83, Sir Ian McKellen has done most things on stage but stripping off to remove an oversized bra might be a first even for this theatrical legend.

After a career spanning six decades including many heavyweight Shakespeare roles, McKellen has also enjoyed a more populist following in recent years, mainly because of his appearances in Coronation Street and as Gandalf in The Lord of The Rings.

Needless to say, McKellen is very much the star of Mother Goose and in some ways it’s hard to see how anybody else could have stepped into his high heels and outrageous frocks.

As Caroline Goose, the veteran actor cruises through this family show, although on the first night, there were certainly more adults than children in the audience.

Due to co-star John Bishop not appearing due to compassionate leave, Mother Goose’s husband Vic was played by Holby actor Gabriel Fleary, who also has an impressive stage CV including the RSC and National Theatre.

Fleary appeared on stage before the show to explain why he was stepping into the role of John Bishop, adding that McKellen warned him the audience might think such an announcement could mean the octogenarian star had died.

Between them, Mother Goose and Vic run an animal sanctuary for waifs and strays inside an abandoned Debenhams.

Written by Jonathan Harvey (Coronation Street, Gimme Gimme Gimme), the script is full of topical and political gags, with mentions of ‘Cruella’ Braverman, Liz Truss, greedy energy companies and Boris Johnson, who turns up as a cake-loving pig. There’s even a llama who ‘identifies as a donkey’.

With his jowly Lancastrian accent and near-the-knuckle double entendres, McKellen is reminiscent of Les Dawson’s saucy Ada Sidebottom character, right down to the bosom-adjusting.

And he didn’t ignore his more famous roles, either, occasionally slipping into Gandalf, and then reading a monologue from The Merchant of Venice, much to the delight of the audience. ‘You wouldn’t get that from Christopher Biggins,’ quipped Fleary.

There was also a strong performance from Anna-Jane Casey as golden egg-laying Cilla the goose. She certainly channelled her inner Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand in a belting version of Don’t Rain On My Parade.

Oscar Conlon-Morrey also impressed as son Jack, bringing plenty of humour and slapstick, especially in the cake-baking sketch.

With chocolate eggs and sweets being thrown into the audience, as well as a few other items which I won’t mention for fear of spoiling the surprise, there was certainly something for all ages.

OK, Mother Goose may have rolled into Bristol just after Easter but let’s just say Christmas has come early with this fast-paced and fun family panto.

Mother Goose is at Bristol Hippodrome until Sunday. For tickets, click here.