Dick Whittington

Just when I thought the pantomime season was over along comes an invitation to another. More than that, it was a production which had overcome problems with storms and floods and, as if in defiance of the elements, the Union flag flew proudly in the strong wind outside. You would think somebody important like the Lord Mayor of London was there.

Written by members of the cast themselves, this was a fairly traditional version of the familiar story, except that, following the sinking of the good ship “Teresa May”, the crew find themselves cast ashore abroad. Lancashire actually and Morecambe to be precise where they befriend the Emperor (a night club owner really) and, having rid his premises of rats, all are speedily transported to London (even without HS2) where the usual happy endings/weddings ensue.

Laura Lipscombe, in her first principal boy role, gave a confident performance as the Yorkshire-born hero, well supported by Paige Flinn-Smith as her faithful feline companion, Steve.  Two younger members of the cast, Neive Roberts and Emma Hargraves, made a humorous pairing as Captain and Mate and Anna Burke provided the love interest for our hero as Alice. Duncan Faulkner as her stage father, the Alderman, brought a few laughs with the results of his poor eyesight, whilst Keith Hughes as an Idle Jack apparently with Liverpudlian roots quickly endeared himself to the audience.  Peter Poulter, claiming to be some 70 years older than the youngest member of the cast, albeit a relative newcomer to pantomime, made a sprightly Sarah the cook and we would all like a copy of his recipe for that. There is, of course, always a villain and Paul Smith made a good job of King Rat, whilst doubling as Stage Manager, no doubt requiring a change of personality to motivate his crew. I was not sure about his prowling around the audience for a period in the second act as it occasionally distracted attention from the action on stage.

There were some good ensemble numbers, particularly those opening each Act and I particularly enjoyed the use of the Leslie Bricusse song “London is London” from the little-known musical film “Goodbye, Mr. Chips” at the very beginning. In front of an attractive cloth depicting a metropolitan scene, an enthusiastic chorus, mainly children from the village, succeeded in giving the show a lively start and their subsequent appearances were also entertaining.  Scenery and costumes were colourful throughout.

The hall is a valuable resource in the village, opened on Valentine’s Day in 1959 and, having first put on a pantomime in 1964, the group clearly lost little time in putting it to good use. This is a record they have maintained every subsequent year and they obviously have a faithful band of followers.    

            

 

 

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