Dick Whittington

It was a privilege to be invited to see the Upstagers’ 2025 pantomime, Dick Whittington, at Ilkley King’s Hall. A range of stunning sets and some beautiful and amazing costumes provided the backdrop for a host of talented performers.

As usual, the whole show was written, directed and produced by John Clark and Andrew Hewitt. They were joined this year by former Upstager Joey Wilby, fresh from success in professional panto. The partnership gave us a very modern take on panto while including most of the traditional elements. I really enjoyed the opening number, it was so fresh and original, taking us from our seats and then over the footlights into the world of pantomime.

There was a major focus on comedy in this version of the tale, and Dame Sarah Suet (Mike Riley) and Idle Jack (Alex Wright) had the experience to handle the audience with complete ease and confidence. A number of running jokes worked well, and audience members were skilfully chosen to avoid any sense of embarrassment. As well as a clever trolley and flag routine, they also managed to include ‘Oh no he isn’t’ and an ‘it’s behind you’, for old time’s sake.

The goody/baddy divide was in the safe hands of Fairy Bow Bells (Amy Pearl-Watt) and Queen Rat (Sophie Holdsworth) Both had the excellent diction which made the storytelling clear. The Fairy was elegant and charming, while Sophie gave us both barrels with a storming yet beautifully controlled performance as the baddy. Excellent work. The Rat Out of Hell number was brilliant.

There were five wonderful sets of chorus and dancers, all used extremely well. The younger performers starred in Act One and then went safely home to bed ready for a school day tomorrow. The stunning smiles as they performed the well drilled routines told the full story. What fun they were having. The line dance finale Rocking All Over the World concluding Act One was a fitting exit for them.

In Act Two the Senior dancers had more chance to shine, with some very creative dance routines. The seafaring medley was superb, just one more example of the high levels of energy expended by all the cast throughout the show. Many congratulations to choreographers Lily Normington and Bea Whiteley.

Meanwhile the plot continued… Amid many jokes about his name, Dick met Alice and they did some great singing as a couple (Matthew Disney and Olivia Leather). Together they confidently held the show together. There were ups and downs but Eileen the Cat (Aimee Fischer) gave excellent support throughout and dazzled us with her stunning smile. Benji Kirk performed well in the difficult role of Alderman Fitzwarren, managing to make the role interesting. There were a number of very interesting rodents; I loved the rats with attitude and James Hepworth and Jeff Cook interpolated the modern world into the fable.

It would be remiss not to mention the very clever Twelve days of Sailing routine, which really entertained the audience. A big group of Cubs sitting in front of me had a whale of a time. Again, the energy levels were immense and the inevitable custard pie moment at the end just rounded off the fun.

Bravo to the stage crew, who under cover of some blinding lights and a little smoke effected amazing, slick scene changes. A small but perfectly formed band gave us all the volume we needed to make this a night out to remember.

Well done all.

 

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