Dick Whittington

Directed by: Rob Gore

Choreographed by: Rob Gore & Ben Clark

My first visit to Act 1 and what a jolly lot they are….!!! Greeted cheerfully by the front of house staff, and handed a great looking programme.

Fanny Bowbells (Beckie Friday) started us off to a jolly start and kept this up, working her audience well, with her infectious giggle. Dick Whittington (Caroline Pankhurst) had a good singing voice and along with Alice Fitzwarren (Lauren Friday) made a good team. Queen Rat (Melissa Maxted) demanded we look at her and look we did, she commanded our attention and she got it. The youngsters were excellent in this production and the ones that stood out were the Hoodrats (Samuel Murray and Jack Whitehead) these two boys were full of energy and along with (Benjamin Chapman) as Prince made the show for me, dancing with great gusto…. keep it up boys. Dame Sarah Dumping (Oliver Mills) gave us a modern dame along with stilettos instead of the usual striped tights and boots, how he did it I do not know, perhaps he has a fetish for ladies shoes.

Liked the naughty innuendoes such as pearl necklaces, dick, and pussy, you thought we didn’t notice them!!! Wrong. The second half started well with a very camp Ben Clark as Captain. Smaller parts played by Thomas Mitchell and Brooke Jones as Tabby all worked to make this Dick Whittington a jolly production.

Rob Gore (Director) assisted by Zoe Chapman directed this panto with thought, and they had a flare for getting this group to work together and bring us a good evenings entertainment. Choreography by Rob Gore and Ben Clark was well thought, and executed superbly for the small stage and along with good costumes (Lorraine Apps, Zoe Chapman, Julie Chenier, Trudi Haughton, Rita Issacs and Valerie Pankhurst). Lighting and sound (Paul Austen and David Mills) were all spot on que. Sets and scenery were of good quality I presume executed by all as no mention in programme, also good choice of music but no mention of a Musical Director?

Rob you should be proud of your production of this Dick Whittington you worked them well on such a small stage ,this is not an easy feat, but it worked, and you should carry on directing as all in this production came together. My only gripe would be diction and take up of dialogue, in panto it needs to be slicker and faster, thus, this could have shortened the evening by at least 20 minutes. Act 1 thank you for inviting me and I look forward to many more productions.

Gordon Harris

NODA Review - District 5