Dick Whittington

Thank you very much for your kind invitation to see Startime Variety’s production of Dick Whittington. This show was brought to the community of Halesowen by the same production team who brought Hercules last year; Lisa Whitehouse and NODA award winning writer, producer and actor Holly Mills.

This production was written by a new Startime Variety member called Beth Raithby who also played the character of Alice in this show. Beth played the character of Persephone in Hercules last year and stood out with her instinct and stage presence. The character of Alice was a very different character but Beth was able to successfully show her versatility and demonstrate her skill in holding a stage with a strong performance.

Once again, Startime Variety produced a very entertaining show with some lovely touches of originality, some tongue in cheek jokes, a little risk here and there and plenty of opportunities to showcase the potential of each individual actor, dancer and musician.

Tina Lilly who was one of the talented dancers in the show and the main choreographer designed some nice moves. Throughout the show, there was great teamwork from the dancers, including Tina Lilly, Liv Chester, Poppy Barrand, Sophie Evans, Sara Aldridge and Falaq Abassi and they all appeared at ease and confident.

Musical Director Chris Handley again led a very tight and talented band and the lights and sound complimented the show and the venue. I was also pleased to see Jeanette Greenway and Kay Churchill play their part in the chorus, alongside Holly Mills and Lynda Dunn. Joining the chorus for the first time with Startime Variety were Bobby Murphy and Levi Perry. 

Gemma Shaw played the lead character of Dick Whittington with a thigh slap and an impressive wig. Gemma was well cast and was the perfect lead. Julie Evans was confident in her delivery and performance as Mayor Fitzwarren and Geoff Westwood was brilliant in his cameo as a Street Crook. Liz Bennett (Fairy Bowbells) was once again a wonderful casting choice. Laura Davis (Idle Jackie) and Taylor King (Sarah The Cook) had a great relationship on stage and delivered a solid performance together with plenty of laughs. Taylor looked perfectly outrageous in his costumes as you would expect. Oh, and thanks for the shout out you two! 

Kieran King who played Dick’s Cat was again, perfectly cast and naturally very funny. His lines were often delivered with a quirky mischievous determination.

For me, the stars of this show were, The Rats!
The character of “King Rat” was played by Ryan Wall who knew how to work the audience well. The introduction was wonderfully devised and acted with the skill and confidence of Ryan setting the tone of the evening. The Rats, “Cheese” and “Crackers” played by Georgina Philpott and Jodie Pountney were simply brilliant. Every time they skittered onto the stage, I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. They both portrayed an edge of playfulness which bounced all around the stage. Georgina and Jodie’s performances were really wonderful. I learnt afterwards that Georgina was approached to play the part in November. This made the partnership between Georgina and Jodie even more impressive for me. 

Thank you once again for the invitation. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I am looking forward to seeing you again in the future. Congratulations to all cast and crew on a very entertaining evening. 

Startime Variety will be performing next in a Summer Concert called “The Perfect Year- Singing Through The Seasons” which will be performed on Friday 7th and Saturday 8th July 2023. Keep an eye on their socials for more information!

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.