REVIEW: Elf the Musical at The Brighton Centre – a fantastic, feel-good way to end the festive period

If you thought Christmas was over, think again. The festive spirit was still in full swing at The Brighton Centre last night (Friday, January 5) when Elf the Musical hit the stage. The sparkling spectacular is in Brighton for two more shows today (Saturday) at 1pm and 5pm with a few tickets remaining at the time of writing. Visit www.brightoncentre.co.uk to check for tickets. If you do get a chance to go along, you are in for a real treat.

The blockbuster film Elf, which stars Will Ferrell as the loveable and lively Buddy, is a family favourite in my house so I was excited to see the story recreated and 'supersized' on an arena stage. I was not disappointed. I was really impressed how the production was able to keep the heart of the original story and combine it with some fantastic new songs and scenes and then sprinkle it with some panto comedy and audience participation.

West End star Steven Serlin leads the large cast and plays Buddy the Elf with the perfect mixture of charm, silliness and exhilaration. The cast also features Charlotte Hall as Jovie, Buddy’s love interest and Barry Bloxham as Buddy’s dad. Both are brilliant. I must admit I was a little worried about the description 'the world's biggest pantomime' but to me this was much more than a pantomime, it was an impressive professional theatre production with bonus panto elements that added festive fun and frolics. I especially loved the interlude moments when police duo (Matt Knight and Paul Brangan) took over the reins during scene changes and entertained us with juggling, acrobatics and comedy capers. They were also on hand to lead a snowball fight with the audience and they were amusingly hopeless at curtailing Buddy's behaviour as he causes some cheeky chaos in the crowd.

If that wasn't enough, there's Santa's flying sleigh, computer-generated backdrops, giant candy canes, aerial cirque stars and choirs singing from the balcony sections of the audience. Supersizing Elf for the arena stage has paid off. For me, it was a fantastic, feel-good way to end the festive period.

Review by Nicola Caines