Dick Whittington

Everyone knows the story of ‘Dick Whittington’ the young man who travels to London because he believed the streets were paved with gold, who rose from poverty to become the Lord Mayor of London, and together with his faithful cat, rids London of a plague of rancid rats.  This version, by Alan P. Frayn and directed by Helen Hill, features the usual traditional panto roles, and takes us from the sewers of Olde London town to the shores of Morocco.

Once the curtains opened, we were presented with our Panto villain – Queen Rat herself, played masterfully by Colette Buchanan-Gray, bathed in green light accompanied by her little group of ratlings and sporting a pair of furry ears.  Collette was every inch the ‘bad guy’ dripping venom and bantering sarcastically with the audience she also demonstrated excellent comic timing.   We also need our good guy to provide balance to Queen Rat’s evil, and this was provided by Fairy Bowbells (Laura Davies) wearing a bright yellow tulle dress covered with tiny gold bells and there were some lovely sparring scenes between the two enemies.

The set opened further to reveal the front façade of Alderman Fitzwarren’s shop; beautifully painted with lots of detail, where we were treated to a rousing opening number provided by the ensemble.  Next, enter Alderman himself (Jonny Hoare) a good-natured sea-faring merchant wearing a powdered wig and accompanied by his daughter Alice (Molly Neary).  This is Molly’s first performance at Sleaford Little Theatre, and she played her part very well I wish her well in her musical theatre studies.  There were some very touching scenes between father and daughter and good chemistry between her and Fin.  The Alderman part is always tricky as he is traditionally the straight man (like Baron Hardup in Cinderella) and the butt of many jokes, but Jonny managed to insert some comedy routines in particularly during the hilarious mop scene on board the ship.

Every panto needs a comedy stooge and here we have Idle Jack played with tremendous energy and bubbly enthusiasm by Joanne Moules. Her obvious acting experience showed through as she handled the audience with great skill.  She was accompanied by her mother, who was also the Alderman’s cook - Dame Dolly Dumpling played brilliantly by Kei Bailey.  Kei had the audience in the palm of his hand gently admonishing them and flirting with selected members.  Kei, a consummate professional, commanded the stage with style and wit.  He even provided all his own costumes featuring a myriad of rainbow confections and a pair of very shapely legs!

This panto also featured an extra pair of incompetent comedy sidekicks played hilariously by Stuart Wyle as Captain Cuttlefish and his ship mate Scupper played by Craig Pakes. The fast and furious quickfire jokes between the straight man Stuart and the idiotic Scupper played by Craig were expertly done and provided lots of jokes which stayed just the right side of ‘double entendre’.  I particularly liked the line about Virgin Megastores and the ‘Rat-chit’ screwdrivers.

Following a scene change, an exquisite country scene backdrop representing Highgate Hill, we finally meet our hero and Principal Boy – Dick Whittington.  Here we had Fin Barnes playing the part with a twinkle in his eye and a natural acting style which captivated the audience.  With his floppy hair impressive vocals and dance moves he could have easily been a member of a boy band - I’m sure he stole quite a few hearts with his performance!

Who is Dick Whittington without his faithful feline?  Here we have Tom the Cool Cat played beautifully by Kelsey Pakes.  Every movement she made oozed with cat-like charm, and she stayed in character throughout - whether tweaking her whiskers or stretching and twisting her tail.  Kelsey’s passion for dance and theatre shone through with every move.  I particularly loved her dancing routines and duets with Fin, a true masterclass in musical theatre performance from both. The heart-breaking moment Dick sent Tom away was beautifully acted with Tom miaowing balefully until he was joyfully reunited with his master.

Special mention to Rob Norris as The Sultan of Morrocco accompanied by his comedy dancing camel, Jameela. Rob also treated us to an acapella rendition of the ‘Wellerman Song’ and played many varied roles in the chorus. 

One stand out scene was when the ship was caught in a storm, conjured by Queen Rat, and all the cast had to swim to safety to the tune of ‘Octopus’s Garden’ providing lots of opportunity for comedy.  I also enjoyed the sewer scene where Cuttlefish and Scupper met Queen Rat with a poonami of toilet humour!  

Panto is always more enjoyable when things go slightly awry as this is when the characters can really show their talent for improv.  This was evidenced by the quick-witted responses from both Kei Bailey and Joanne Moules.  I loved the quip from Kei when the lights didn’t come up leaving the stage in darkness and he asked had someone put a shilling in the meter.

The costumes were appropriate to the theme of the show and face painting, provided by Laura Davies was intricate and enhanced each character especially Queen Rat and Tom cat.  I particularly liked the leotard worn by Kelsey as the cat so you could see each beautiful balletic move unlike some productions which opt for a large shapeless fluffy suit with little room to manoeuvre.   Lighting provided by Alec Hill added the atmosphere to the show with half of the stage in pink light for Fairy Bowbells and green for Queen Rat and to add atmosphere to the sewer scene.  Sound was provided by Daniel Johnson with microphones used specifically to enhance the singers’ voices. Choreography was provided by Kelsey Pakes who has created some fast-paced dance routines.

It was particularly nice to meet the director Helen Hill and some of the cast after the show and we had a lovely warm welcome from the very friendly front of house team. Well done to everyone concerned for a very enjoyable night’s entertainment.  Sleaford Little Theatre you have done yourself proud with the production of a slick, pacy and very funny show.

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© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.