Dick Whittington

Sale NOMADS present Dick Whittington, one of the most traditional of Pantomimes and one of my personal favourites!

King Rat was played suave with a slightly arrogant attitude by Howard Anson which worked really nicely – the biggest statement of his character was his deep booming voice which suited the interpretation. His costume utterly coordinated with his approach to the villain presenting a strong image and well-rounded act.   

Yes, with this particular panto you expect the occasional ‘Dick joke’ which can often become tiresome and pre-dick-table but this script didn’t overdo it! In fact, the gag which creased me up the most couldn’t have been further from a ‘dick joke’ and, on the night I attended, it seemed to go over the majority of the audience’s heads but the ‘Red Bush’ gag ended up with tears streaming down my face – “Red Bush?” “I beg your Pardon!?” – genius!

It was unfortunate that on the night I was in, the audience seemed a bit flat and almost didn’t want to join in. This did seem to have an effect on the energy of quite a few of the performances. 
It is, I know, so difficult with any show to find the adrenalin to keep your performance vibrant when you’ve got a quiet house, but nothing can feel the pinch more than in Panto.

Musically, I thought the tempos needed to be kicked up a notch and the band was too quiet, both of these factors wouldn’t have helped the energy levels amongst the cast.
Jill Mallen certainly wasn’t one affected by the flat crowd – she kept bright, animated and full of life throughout!

A mention must go to the wardrobe department for a splendid collection of costumes from the tiny tots to the ensemble of pirates – Striking costumes are a strong asset to any production, Pantomimes in particular!

Alice Gregr was a wonderful Dick (uh hum!) She looked perfect as the Principal Boy, sang nicely and delivered the part with a time-honoured quality. 
Derek Stuart-Cole was the ever traditional Dame! I liked his technique very much, a natural pantomime performer who has the skill and knack for this genre – very enjoyable.  

One of the biggest advantages of Panto, for me, is the opportunity to get creative and playful with every aspect of putting on a production - there are no limits with panto! Also, taking advantage of the strengths and abilities within the cast/society to showcase what they’re best at - I think this production would have benefited with more of these avenues being explored.

Jenny Hollinshead (one of the co-directors) stepped in to play ‘Duck the Cat’ with only a few weeks to go, you wouldn’t have guessed this from her performance as she was as polished and as well rehearsed as the rest of the cast which is commendable and certainly worthy of note! 

Bryan Shakeshaft’s scenery was the usual top quality, this particular script wasn’t as demanding (scenic wise) as last year’s panto as we only had a few locations with this one, but the standard, none the less, was as high as expected!

Congratulations Sale NOMADS!

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