Dick Whittington

It was good to see another society back on stage with panto this Christmas and this production particularly provided the perfect opportunity for a number of youngsters to perform with two teams taking turns at alternate performances. 

The show certainly started with a bang when King Rat entered to the explosion of a large pyro, and the actor, well-experienced in the role of pantomime “baddie”, had the audience against him from the start, and was quickly challenged by a gentle but firm Fairy Bowbells straight from the East End, in a lovely sparkly frock.

The cast contained a good mix of adults and youngsters all interacting well together, with two great teams of well-rehearsed Ratlings and some delightful dancers.

Keeping the tradition of a young lady in the role of Principal Boy, Dick Whittington was strongly played and well complemented by the alternate Alice’s, each showing their own individual style, one determinedly confident, and one bubbly and effervescent. Dick was also well supported by a glamorous Tom roller skating from scene to scene. 

The “desperate duo” of the piece, Captain and Scupper, were “manfully” played by two ladies who soon had the audience on their side and made for some good comedy moments, while the Alderman did his best to exercise his authority throughout.

Idle Jack certainly worked his socks off and pulled them up on cue every time. He quickly established a good rapport with the audience, and made for a likeable character, but the opportunity on a couple of occasions for a short solo song which would have fitted in well with his personality was not taken up. Playing against such an experienced and well-known Dame must have presented a challenge, but the two worked well together, and evoked memories of pantos past on this stage with the Dame and a previous “Silly Billy” partner. The two certainly stole the show and the baking scene was a hoot but perhaps not for the right reasons!

The action upped a pace in Act II with a lively sea shanty opening, a hornpipe and a great rendition of Rolling on the River. 

When the story shifted to the shores of Morocco a member of the adult chorus stepped ably into the Sultan’s slippers, although in the Palace scene it would have been good to have seen him move down stage particularly when try to tempt Dame Dolly into becoming his Sultana. 

Also, in the scene when boarding the ship, the action was again a tad “up stage”, and panto traditionalists would have “twitched” at the point when the Fairy crossed over to stage left!

As was expected Tom saved the day in the end and chased the rats out of the Palace, despite during an earlier scene in the shop when he seemed to have bonded with them somewhat.

The ensemble numbers were certainly a memorable feature of this show, with some great choreography, and accompaniment from an excellent band.

The traditional script was packed with all the usual expected jokes and “one-liners” and together with the lighting and sound, a sparkly finale, some impressive back projection, and colourful costumes, this production certainly had the “feel good” factor needed in difficult times, and the group should be commended particularly for making it to the end of the run when several members of the cast were unable to go on – well done!

The last performance was dedicated to the Society’s long-standing Musical Director Rob Preece, who sadly passed away last year. Rob was well-known in theatrical circles across the area, not only as an excellent MD but also as a talented actor.

He was an absolute joy to work with and could always be relied on in pantomime to jump in at just the right moment and move the action along, he will be greatly missed.

 

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