Dick Whittington

The opportunity to view a Pantomime during the dark, dank nights of February is always a welcome invite and so on a cold night in Torpoint I found myself in the warm and welcoming arms of the Torpoint Players for their production of Dick Whittington. This story is not one that gets a regular outing, with most groups opting for the classic fairy tales, but when this Cockney Gal was treated to a thigh slapping, traditional Cockney classic rendition of The Lambeth Walk as the opening ensemble number, I knew I was in for a treat.

All of the pantomime stock characters were in attendance cleverly imagined and created by the director and writer Marc Styles. The Principal Boy playing the titular character of Dick Whittington was played by a confident actress with strong vocals who had the experience to command the stage and perform with both comedy and emotion. The female playing roles of Alice and Joanna were brought to life in a supportive manner demonstrating assured character interpretations and voices that blended well in their duet.

The Good Fairy kept the audience up with the narration although at times the actress stumbled upon her lines and did not appear experienced enough with the genre to get herself out of the predicament by breaking the fourth wall. She did however come into her own during the pantomime classic, ‘If I were not in Pantomime’ where her facial expressions and physicality portrayed an excellent comedy actress.

Our villain for the evening was Queen Rat and the actress who presented with a broken limb and crutches showed that there was no weakness in her performance and cleverly adapted and crafted the choreography with aforementioned mobility aids with little effort and a huge display of competence. The actress had excellent projection and vocals and was successful in drawing the audience into her villainy with her signature evil laugh and storytelling skills.

The actress playing Jack, the comic sidekick, displayed excellent physicality and characterisation and successfully demanded empathy from the audience as her attempts to woo the lovely Alice were thwarted by our hero Dick. The onstage chemistry with her mother, our Pantomime Dame, was well crafted and showed two experienced performers able to provide comic moments using just facial expressions and well-rehearsed delivery of lines.

 

The director of this piece also took on the role of the Pantomime Dame which is no easy task but the actor in this role was able to direct the performers throughout the show as a fellow performer due to his confidence, experience and ability to command the stage. He wore his many well-crafted outfits with aplomb. I look forward to seeing this actor again in a different performance context.

Other notable roles included Smudge the Cat who had a physically demanding role having to adapt appropriately in physicality alongside vocal acrobatics. A very big well done to Costume for creating an outfit that Andrew Lloyd Webber would have been proud of! Other cameo roles were performed confidently and with no less effort by experienced actresses in the roles of Captain Williams (a strong alto), Martin the Mate (great comic timing) and the Empress (a contrasting calm and seriously acted role). One very proud Chairman who also happened to provide an excellent comedy performance as Fitzwarren, showed excellent deadpan comic delivery and timing and presented as an experienced stage performer. This was definitely not his first rodeo. Their collective performances proved that there were no weak players in the company and together with the ensemble who positively executed simple and accessible choreography (a big nod to the hilarious hornpipe!) showed a real sense of community theatre with its inclusivity.

Supporting the performers with a professional sound and lighting display alongside a versatile and creative set worthy of a Palladium Pantomime was Andy Martin Production Support. This expert set up gave this talented bunch of actors a well-deserved technical collaboration and scene changes were smoothly executed by a commendable and committed team of Stage Crew operating unseen and professionally in the background.

Following a warm and welcoming reception from the Secretary, I knew that I was in for an experience full of community spirit, heart and joy. This was corroborated by the audience’s reaction to familiar faces from their local surroundings in different guises on the stage and the lack of annoyance when the wet tears of laughter on their cheeks were joined by a fierce attack of multiple water pistols of varying sizes distributed by the Dame. All done in the best possible taste! Oh yes it was!

 

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