'Dick Whittington' Review
It’s always good to see a lesser-known panto grace the boards, and Dick Whittington isn’t such familiar fare.
Our verdict
The story of the boy who treads the streets of London paved with gold (clearly the choice of someone with a sense of humour in this cost-of-living era!), the panto boasts Paul Merton as Sarah the Cook, the ubiquitous dame, his real-life wife Suki Webster making her successful debut as ever-cheerful Suki the Sweet Maker; much pleasure is derived from the banter between these two and Webster is a panto natural.
Merton’s sardonic humour is generally a treat, even if it would have been good to see a bit more over-the-top fun from the extravagantly-garbed Sarah, often looking like a glamorous lampshade, part of his costume deriving a life of its own as ruefully conceded!
There’s little scurrilous material here and not much innuendo, so it’s a family-friendly panto that would suit anyone.
One of the best moments in the second half sees Sarah recalling every panto scene to date, an impressive feat of recall, although a two-hander in which Sarah and Suki play on the words ‘who’ and what goes on far too long, losing its comedic value, even for children I’d guess.
The young leads are appealing, Jack Danson in particular, making Dick Whittington a likeable hero, and it was rather refreshing to see his beloved Alice battling the villainous Queen Rat (a suitably nasty Vivian Parry) for supremacy whilst he looked on aghast.
More menace would have been even better, but Parry was very effective notwithstanding. Sometimes, the orchestra’s sound overpowered the cast’s singing, so a little more nuance would have been good, but this aside, there’s plenty to enjoy, including Charlie Smart’s feline sidekick Eileen and the sumptuous staging, which ramps up the charm in abundance.
Overall, it is a generally engaging, effervescent panto that would have benefited from a little more seasonal double-entendre but possesses a broad appeal that will make it a welcome trip this Christmas.
