Dick Whittington

Pantomimes are frequently underestimated, they’re a mammoth venture to get on their feet and ought to challenge every department of a theatre, but so often overlooked is the calibre of the script, if it’s not funny and doesn’t solidly punch out the story you’re doomed before you’ve begun. I will always favour a panto which dares to push the innuendo as far as possible, I found this area relatively tame at this production. I’m not saying we should be given pure filth but looking around at the audience on the night I attended the humour pitch could certainly have afforded to go further.  

Taking a look at the major pantomimes throughout the UK in recent years you’ll see men playing the Prince, Dick, Jack and Aladdin. Panto trends have moved on and it’s rare these days to see girls taking the principal boy roles, there are several examinations of why that is but it’s amateur theatre which is – for now, at least – keeping this tradition alive.

Our Dick was portrayed by Lisa Macdonald and she absolutely had the ideal poise and delivery for a traditional rendering of a female principal boy bringing a sturdy act indeed. Lisa is no stranger to the MMTG stage but this performance showcased the finest vocal performance I’ve heard from her, great job!

I find community pantos incredibly comforting - more so than the pro ones - with their loyal audiences who adore seeing those familiar faces up on the stage each year, like receiving a warm hug when they make their first appearance. Michael Daws as Dame Gertie Sprat was back on fine form this time. His regular Dame certainly had her spark back and gave us the regular alter ego we’ve come to grow fond of each season.  

Following suit from last year’s London Palladium’s Dick, we got a womanly villain in the form of Queen Rat. Sara Hawley had an ideal menacing physicality to accompany her portrayal which ignited her stage command, however, her diction made her addressing rather tough to decipher. Sara has an impressive singing voice yet this wasn’t taken advantage of with the songs chosen for her which could’ve showcased her skill to its full potential.    

Steph Parsons gave an understated performance as Dick’s love interest, Alice. She wasn’t as animated or over fluffy as is commonly offered with this sort of character which was a favourable approach.

Liv Riseley was a vision as Fairy Bow Bells, she regularly switched between ensemble/dancer and Fairy throughout the performance which confirmed her versatility as a performer. A repeated issue was evident here when it came to understand what was being spoken, the speed of her delivery is what obstructed the clarity. Articulation needs to work overtime, rushing the script or forgetting to make every syllable count will often result in missing important parts of the script.

The biggest laugh of the evening came from Paolo Pinto as Sultan Pepper with his shades, walking into the set, whether deliberate or not it was comedy gold! More please!  

Musically, we were under the direction of Jack Smith who’s really made a staple for himself at MMTG’s Panto Land, he enjoys getting in on the fun and consistently delivers a sterling job. Jack had pieced together a varied score which ticked many boxes when piecing together a panto playlist with recent chart toppers, some musicals and Disney favourites. The glory of panto is how musical numbers can be personalised to suit the cast, a benefit that’s rarely taken advantage of. Impressive singers should be given the opportunity to showcase it and those who you’d not say singing was a strong point, shouldn’t get as much.  

Almost (yes…almost!) every panto this season has jumped on the ‘baby shark’ wagon. I understand that such current fads should absolutely be included but my gosh it’s blooming irritating, more so with how it sticks in your head for DAYS(!!) …and frequently getting funny looks in supermarket queue’s because you’re unaware you’re humming the retched tune! I appreciated the reluctance of Gertie Sprat to do the song as part of the act which added to the humour and gave us irking folk something to latch on to for us to get through it, nicely done.

Technically, the lighting struck as being rather attractive, it’s such a virtue to see this area making an impression at MMTG once again, not only was it a feast for the eyes it pinpointed the shows focus throughout and thankfully it didn’t latch onto to the current trend of spinning the lights out into the audience to blaze us, leaving us temporarily blind, for which I thank you.

Everyone in this production appeared to be wholly committed to ensure they gave their very best which is testament to the ethic of the society and the passion installed into the cast from the production team. Moments of the show sparkled and were a joy to behold.

We had a range of ability amongst the principal players and I have every confidence that the experienced ones would have passed on a wealth of knowledge to those less so. The membership of MMTG radiate a friendly impression which goes a long way, especially in pantomime! I’m thrilled to see that the annual Macclesfield pantomime is climbing back up after the glitches over recent years, things are certainly on their way back up! Congratulations.  

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