Dick Whittington

Dick Whittington is a traditional pantomime; this version was written by Ian Greenwood. 

Julie Markey like me is a pantomime traditionalist, and you could see that she wanted to produce a traditional pantomime and she did this making sure all the traditional elements were there, including a ballet which is not always incorporated in Dick Whittington.

Choreography overall was good.  It is challenging when you have different levels of ability on stage, unfortunately on the night I went, there were a couple of the junior chorus a little unsure.

Keith Willis always has a good band, and this band was no exception.  Some of the song choices were unfamiliar but they did fit with the show overall.  Sound is always challenging and at times the band were too loud especially during the solos and duets.

The script overall had some good ideas.  I really liked the interplay between This and That, and the idea of Tom the cat not being heard by the rest of the cast was a great idea. I would expect a couple of innuendoes especially in Dick Whittington but there were too many in this script especially for a traditional family pantomime – less is more.  I personally would have liked more of Idle Jack’s silly quick jokes – at the start of act 2 they were all funny and had the audience laughing along with him.

Carly Cousins played Dick Whittington, and she was a traditional principal boy, which I really appreciate as a lot of societies try to change this.  She played the part with experience and control.

Tom (or should I say Nigel) the Cat was played by Saphie Meischke.  She was by far one of the best pantomime cats I have seen in recent times, her sarcasm was hilarious.  Congratulations Saphie.

Alex Parkes played Alice Fitzwarren and she was a good partner to play opposite Carly.  She had good diction and a good voice; she came across as a good Principal girl.  David Cousins played the bumbling Alderman Fitzwarren.

Darrell Williams played the Dame Sarah the cook.  I must comment on his costumes they were very good and suitable for the scenes they were in.  Darrell quite clearly has a super voice; I do believe at times this was under used.  Most of the time he was good with his dialogue, however at times he lacked pace with the punchlines, and this was evident in the kitchen scene.  Darrell was good at working with the audience.

Bradley Boxall played Idle Jack, and he was excellent, outstanding audience participation and his energy changed the show whenever he was on.  His comic timing was good making the most of all of his one liners.

Lorraine Bottomley was a traditional fairy as Fairy Bowbells.  The dress she wore was stunning and you could see all the little girls in the audience smiling when she came on and that is exactly what a traditional Fairy should do. 

Jim Markey was a true villain as King Rat.  I really enjoyed his interplay with the band, this was a clever idea. 

Clive Dancey and Darren Jones were the comedy duo This and That.  They worked well together and because their dialogue was quick and had pace it was funny.  Again I did feel they were not in the show enough as again they brought energy up when they were on.

Barry Shergold played the traditional pantomime captain, with some good moments.

The costumes overall were very good, that is why I was surprised with the costumes for the dancers in ‘Bad’ as they seemed out of place.

This pantomime had some lovely moments. I just felt at times it went too far for family pantomime; I enjoyed the evening, and I would like to thank HD&OS for their hospitality.

 

Scott Welch

NODA Representative - NODA East District 9

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