Cromer Pier Show Summer 2015

The Cromer Pier Show is the only 'end-of-the-pier' show in Europe and we'd heard about it long before we moved to Norfolk so we thought that it was high time to see what everyone was talking about.

It's a typically English variety show showcasing a range of acts and talents. There's something for all of the family to enjoy with music through the decades, high-energy dance routines, lots of sparkly costumes, comedy and slapstick and even some escapology!

Paul Eastwood, comedian and MC was firing out the jokes at a rapid pace, some a little near the knuckle and a few that would have gone over the heads of the children but he had me & hubby chuckling.

Credit: Cromer Pier

Teaming up with Paul for some very funny routines was local comic Ben Langley. Ben is a family favourite after Charlie performed with him in Norwich Theatre Royal's Peter Pan during the 2014/15 panto season. He always sports a cheeky grin and you never know quite what's coming next with him.  He looks like he's having as much fun on stage as those in the audience watching. Their Monty Python-inspired custard pie routine may have been a simple one but it certainly had the children giggling.

Singers Jane Watkins and Luke Walsh performed well, as a duo and during solo numbers, although I sometimes felt that Luke's voice was drowned out a little by the volume of the music. They belted out some great, toe-tapping numbers and the children loved hearing their version of Uptown Funk. I was rather distracted by Luke's incredible pecs during this number though. If you see the show you'll know what I mean!!

Rachel King is a very talented multi-instrumentalist and the children were really impressed at how well she played so many instruments. They haven't mastered the recorder yet and I think they were quite jealous!

Credit: Cromer Pier

The six piece dance troupe performed a great range of routines throughout the show but the favourite for us all was the energetic Mary Poppins spectacular. It included all of our favourite songs from the film and was, in Molly's words, 'colourful and awesome'. A group of cute little ones from Marlene's School of Dancing appeared to a chorus of 'Aaaaah's from the audience and they did a grand job on stage. It must have been so nerve-wracking for them.

Credit: Cromer Pier

The production was very slick and smooth and you could see how much hard work had been put into the show. Sadly for the performers I felt that the audience yesterday afternoon were hard work and not very responsive but the cast persevered and the five of us certainly had fun.

The children all agreed that they'd had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed the show, although Harry did get a little fidgety towards the end. Two hours is a long time for any 5 year old to sit still but he sat spellbound throughout most of the show.

I asked the eldest two to name their favourite part of the show but they couldn't name just one:

Molly said "I loved all of the dancing, the singing, the music and all of Ben's parts" 

Charlie's highlight was seeing Ben and his favourite song/dance routine was Uptown Funk but overall the whole show was 'epic'!

It's a good old-fashioned British seaside variety show and hugely enjoyable entertainment for the whole family, something you'd be happy to take the little ones and grandparents to. 

Performances run until 19th September 2015 and there are two different shows to see. We saw Show 1.  Tickets are available from £10. Family tickets (2 adults + 2 children) are available for £39. You can book by calling the box office on 01263 512495 or by booking online at the Cromer Pier Show website.

Some interesting facts about the show taken from the Cromer Pier website:

One of our intelligent lights that can change colour, move and show up different shapes costs over £14,000. Our summer show season typically includes over 150 costumes, 48 pairs of shoes, 40 pairs of tights, 33 hats, 31 fascinators and 24 petticoats, all made by just two people! The record for the quickest costume change took just 17 seconds! We also use 100KGs of glitter and 220 metres of LED lighting on stage sets. The dance routines include 1,104 taps in a tap routine, 116 kicks in show numbers, 52 dance lifts, 48 pairs of false eyelashes used throughout the season and a few pulled muscles, tantrums and tears along the way!



*Many thanks to Cromer Pier for providing us with tickets for the purposes of this review