Dick Whittington and his Cat

It was with great pleasure that I attended Powick Players for the first time and this Peter Denyer pantomime in association with NODA, worked well giving plenty of opportunity for a talented cast to make the most of a traditional panto. It was a first too for Director / Producer Jake Heaton who proved he was very capable of fulfilling the task.

As the story dictates, Dick Whittington is heading to London to seek his fortune with the ever faithful friend Tommy the Cat. Kieran Towler-Macdonald made an instant impact as ‘Dick’ with a cheeky presence that worked the audience well singing ‘Greased Lightnin’ with style. Louise Carter as ‘Tommy’ moved and acted well in partnership with Dick.

Rob Leadbeater as ‘Sarah the cook’  also led the way creating a great rapport with the audience, with an abundance of costume changes and son ‘Idle Jack’ played by Phillip Broome  also struck up a great relationship with the audience.  Dick is helped along the way by ‘Alderman Fitzwarren’, played well by John Hadley whilst daughter ’Alice’ played sweetly by Emma White soon falls for Dick. The moment when Dick and Alice met was very funny and their scenes and musical numbers together worked extremely well.

Of course no panto is complete without the good fairy and the one we love to hate. Both parts were played perfectly by Joy Hadley (‘Fairy Bow Bells’) and Julie Merry (‘Rat Bag Lady’).  The Rat Bag Lady’s accomplices ‘Gnawbone’ and ‘Gnashfang’ played by Barbara Washbourne and Shirley Sedge respectively, were amusingly devilish in their quest to thwart Dick. Good support was also provided by Mike Washbourne (‘Captain Cuttle’) and Melanie Lewis (‘Queen Ursula’). Both Chorus and the dancers from the Amelia K Academy added depth to the production.

Without exception, the costumes, make-up and wigs were first class. The use of portable staging maximised the space and the innovative printed backcloths and lighting set off every scene well. There was a great choice of songs, well sung, and the backing music was good including the well timed sound effects; if I could make one small personal request it would be to slightly tone down the volume of the music to assist the soloists, but this did not impact the overall performance.

In Powick Parish Hall, a great family atmosphere was created for a production that all can be proud of and I look forward to many more future productions.  

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