Dick Whittington

It was a pleasure to return to Tyldesley little Theatre to review ‘Dick Whittington,’ the pantomime, written by Alan P. Frayn. This family friendly production, packed to the rafters with an excited audience, told the tale of Dick Whittington, a good-natured chap, and his newfound friend Tommy, a cat. Their story begins on the road to London, and as the pair navigate through the plot, they meet many colourful characters and travel to distant shores.

This pantomime had silly jokes, slapstick humour and ridiculous comedy, all the correct ingredients for an enjoyable show. Audience participation kept the cast on their toes as impromptu heckles rang through the auditorium. There were many young children in the audience, all eager to shout out catchphrases and warnings of danger, thoroughly engrossed in the production. Director, Jenny Whur, had prepared her cast for audience participation; players were confident and quick witted, spontaneous quips adding to the comedy. Chorus members were enthusiastic, with bright costumes and smiling faces. The scene with the mops, where the actors had to present arms was hilarious. The preparation that had gone into that scene was undeniable. Mops and actors spun in all directions, making it look natural rather than stilted and rehearsed. The audience laughed aloud at the galley scene. Dolly Dumpling and Idle Jack making food from floor sweepings was gross but comical. The cake making with Jack misunderstanding the instructions, instead, greasing, and spraying the wrong ‘bottom’ had the children shouting and giggling.

Songs were easily recognisable; I enjoyed the deliberately badly sung version of Rod Stewart’s ‘Sailing’ performed by Dolly Dumpling and Idle Jack. These two actors had great comic timing, bouncing off one another with ease. The final scene of act one, where Fairy Bowbells sang ‘The Impossible Dream’ was notable. She began the song in spotlight stage right whilst a gauze hid a tableau of Dick Whittington becoming mayor of London. As the light shifted to reveal the tableau, the cast joined in the singing, and it sounded lovely. I personally could not make out the fairy’s face under the spotlight, but that could have been the angle of viewing from my perspective. I did like the pink lights that lit the stage whenever Fairy Bowbells was on, and with the backlit tableau it was an evocative ending for act one. Lighting by Pete Gower and team filled the stage with greens for King Rat and his minions. When both Fairy Bowbells and King Rat battled verbally, the stage was divided by half pink, half green lights, clearly defining good and evil. Sound was clear throughout the show. Sound Engineer, Paul Whur, provided prompt effects. The storm scene was loud, cacophonous, as ocean waves battered the ship, casting the players onto the sandy shores of Morocco. There was no feedback or dropped vocals, the sound was clear, defined. All technical departments ran smoothly under the watchful eye of Stage Managers Joanne Hibbert and Jenny Ackerley.

Musical Director Martyn Taylor kept the cast and ensemble on their toes. Upbeat numbers such as ‘Celebration’ by Cool and the Gang’ had the ensemble dancing and singing, whilst the audience clapped along. The harmony in ‘Impossible Dream’ was wonderful, the voices all flowing together to create a lovely sound. I loved the vibrant energy as the company sang ‘You Can’t Stop the Beat’ from the musical, ‘Hairspray.’ Choreography by Cathryn Hughes and the company members was suitable for all ability of dancer. Routines were simple but looked effective as everyone was synchronised and smiling.

Danny Tooby played the titular role of Dick Whittington. Danny was notable as the good-natured hero. His use of the stage was impressive, he strode with confidence and slapped his thigh in true panto tradition. I loved the scene where he was hypnotised and took on the mannerisms and speech patterns of King Rat, jolly funny. His songs, a solo, ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ (Elvis Presley) was heartfelt and melodic and his duet on ‘Perfect’ (Fairground Attraction) was strong. A great all-round performance. Falling in love was easy for Alice Fitzwarren, played by Gemma Manfredi. One look at Dick Whittington and she was smitten. Gemma played her role with a wide-eyed innocence, coquettish behaviour, and the ability to wrap her father around her little finger. Her duet with Danny (Perfect) was strong. A solid performance from Gemma. Tom the Cat, was played by Fiona Woodhead. In this production, Tom could talk. Fiona was animated and lively, with the ability to ad-lib when needed. Fiona’s stance and movements were slinky, decidedly feline. I did like Fiona’s facial expressions during romantic scenes, the audience laughed heartily as she expressed disgust at Dick and Alice falling in love. This was a physical roll and Fiona played it to the maximum. Ian Hunter took to the stage as Alice’s father; Alderman Fitzwarren. Looking dapper in his tricorn hat and jacket with breaches, Ian was confident with clear diction and unflappable stage presence. Dolly Dumpling, the Dame in this production was played by Neil Robinson. I did like the many costumes worn by Dolly, the pink sailor suit, the sequinned belly dancing outfit worn in Morocco, among others. Neil was confident, and humerous throughout. The scenes between Dolly and her son Idle Jack were funny, dialogue flowed back and forth between the two actors with ease. Playing Idle Jack was Andrea Peters. Andrea was quick as a whip funny, her interactions with the children in the audience were hilarious as they shouted out the tagline ‘Pull your socks up Jack’ whenever she came onto the stage. With masses of dialogue and corny jokes, Andrea was confident, her performance strong, her characterisation memorable. Captain Cuttlefish and his lackey Scupper were played by Joe Taylor and Daisy Clark respectively. This duo of actors, as the inept sailing crew, were tasked with getting the Fitzwarren family, Dolly, and Jack to Morocco. Amidst terrible jokes and slapstick humour, Joe, and Daisy confidently used the stage, bouncing off each other verbally to great comedy effect. Catherine Aspinall looked beautiful as Fairy Bowbells. Her sparkling dress, and the surrounding pink lights, gave her an ethereal quality. Her dialogue had a cadence, the delivery strong. ‘The Impossible Dream’ was lovely, Catherine’s opening of this number was simply wonderful. Matthew James played King Rat. Matthew was great as the evil rodent. I loved the accent and speech patterns employed; they were very funny. The audience reacted with enthusiasm whenever Matthew was on the stage, the children ‘booing’ loudly. I particularly enjoyed the scene where the meal table was brought on and King Rat was under the cloche, jolly funny and unexpected. The costume looked fantastic under the lights, and the makeup effective. King Rat had three rat minions, played by Veronica Cormack, Chris Nicholls, and Kylie Browne. The scurried around the stage carrying out King Rats orders. (Veronica and Chris also made a comical appearance as Cam, the camel). The Sultan of Morocco, played by Alex Sangster, had the hots for Doris. Alex made the audience laugh as he tried to sweet talk Doris, a confident performance from Alex.

Dick Whittington was a thoroughly entertaining pantomime. It was colourful and pacy, silly and outlandish, as it should be in panto land. The audience left the theatre with smiling faces. I would like to thank Tyldesley Little Theatre for a wonderful evening.

Dawn-Marie Woodcock

District 3 Rep

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