If you think The Krankies are just an act from the past, forget it!

:: This review originally appeared in the Walsall Advertiser on 16th December 2009 ::

TINY Janette Krankie has become a giant of the pantomime scene, and she is back in the Black Country with husband, Ian, to delight audiences at the Grand.

Now in her 60s, she is a gleaming bright Buttons and a laugh-a-minute star who simply carries the show with her jokes and sketches, sometimes living up to her cheeky reputation as the 'Dirty Wee Boy'.

If you think The Krankies are just an act from the past, forget it. In these days of so-called alternative comedy they are a breath of fresh air, and two scenes where Janette comes on stage in black wig and shades as Ozzy Osbourne - expletives bleeped out - then as a mini Susan Boyle, singing I Dreamed a Dream, are quite brilliant.

Ian, as Baron Hardup, plays his part, too, as the straight man of the pair and joins his better half in a very funny sketch with a bunch of ghosts.

Former X Factor semi-finalist Niki Evans is a confident Fairy Godmother with a Black Country accent, and a spectacular new twist to the scene where she creates a coach from a pumpkin sees a winged Pegasus fly above stage taking Cinderella (Danielle York) to the glitzy ball.

Ben Stock and Nathan Kiley impress as the Ugly Sisters with an amazing wardrobe of colourful costumes to die for... or die from! Neighbours star Stefan Dennis is Dandini, unusually cast as the panto villain, with Nic Greenshields playing Prince Charming. Even the insurance dog, Churchill, turns up

At times the orchestra, directed by David Lane, is a little too powerful, but Wee Janette is the 'big noise' that matters.

- Paul Marston