It’s panto season at Peterborough’s Secret Theatre, and this year’s offering, Cock Whittington, must feature a health caution– since it is rather unpleasant smiling from ear to ear for 2 hours plus!
Yes, it’s got the lot, from Peterborough panto preferred Lucy-Jane Quinlan’s Fairy Bowbells introduction through to the (spoiler alert) pleased ending; excellent memorable tunes, great deals of quickfire ridiculous jokes– and a couple of saucy ones– the sketches all of us understand and enjoy and a panto bad guy– with Alexa Vox in excellent kind as Queen Rat.
Simon Aylin (checks notes, “back by popular need”) is no fool when it pertains to playing the fool– our hero of the piece Cock.
He has amusing in his DNA. and women, book the front row at your hazard! He is rather one for audience involvement.
And it is excellent double act, with his funny partner David Griffin-Stephens as the Dame, sweet shop owner Fanny Fitzbottom (yes there are some name gags too if you listen thoroughly).
He has some excellent funny minutes too, and it is all so well provided he might have composed it himself (checks notes, he did).
Abigail Matthews took part the enjoyable too, as Alice, the onstage things of Cock’s love.
No guy’s journey from Peterborough to ending up being Lord Mayor of London would be total, obviously, without an extra-large fluffy packed cat, big inflatable, a shipwreck on a weird Island ruled by a disco caring King looking really Elvis-like (Simon Rhys-Jones having excellent enjoyable) and a lightsaber battle.
Contribute To that some extraordinary music from the pit, a great dancing ensemble and a cast taking excellent delight in sending out each other and themselves up.
Sing-along, dance-along, laugh-along, it’s all created to send out the audience– the kids in specific– house pleased.
You can see Cock Whittington till January 8. Tickets at www.keytheatre-peterborough.com