Hello girls and boys! Who is prepared for some panto?
The story of Dick Whittington and his Cat is a favorite topic of British pantomime. This present took this well-known story and added a twist to it, with Cambridge particular jokes, liberal political statements, and never a straight old white man of a predominant character in sight.
The plot surrounds Dick Whittington as he units as much as depart his comfy and boring life in Cambridge and head off to London, impressed by a political journalist (and considerably of a crush) Julie Fitzwarren. As he packs up his issues right into a comically cartoonish purple sack on a stick, his adventures begin. He meets his sidekick on the way in which, defeats a villain and falls in love. The sentence that would sum up almost any panto, which is why it’s nice. This present takes these very panto-esque parts and brings them collectively in an important efficiency.
The present excels (get it? haha… no? watch the present and you’ll) at making puns humorous sufficient to make you chortle and silly sufficient to chortle at your self for laughing. Obviously, Dick jokes have been anticipated and the script didn’t disappoint. Always accompanied by a personality trying disapprovingly on the laughing viewers, they have been a delight. And all of the Cambridge particular jokes have been undoubtedly loved by the viewers. Overall the jokes have been nice they usually felt nicely placed within the script, however there have been instances when the actors didn’t depart the viewers sufficient time to chortle, which was a disgrace. An amazing operating joke all through the present was Pauline – a random viewers member who bought picked by each single character, from being flirted with by Dame, to attending to ask Dom questions on Julie’s political marketing campaign. I’m guessing this a part of the present can be very totally different each night time, however you may count on loads of viewers interactions, so prepare to affix in. Although we have been confused at instances what the actors wished us to yell, the spirit was there and it was enjoyable.
Image credit: Amy Riordan
The solid was unbelievable. Dick Whittington, performed by the sensible Isabel Beresford-Cole, made a candy and humorous protagonist. There was simply sufficient sincerity and exaggeration in her portrayal of this character, and her singing was simply phenomenal. With vocals like that I want she had stronger songs to show the ability of her voice. Another actor with unbelievable singing was Joseph Lucas, within the function of Nigel Oliver. He undoubtably had the most effective music of the present and was pleasant all through. Nigel was a superb villain. With the correct quantity of charisma and theatrical aptitude, he was one of many viewers’s favourites. Ava Fitzhugh, as Mint, having debuted within the freshers musical, is exhibiting nice musical expertise and was a pleasure to look at. Hopefully we are going to see extra of her in different reveals.
Yet one other unbelievable voice was that of Matthew Weatherhead, enjoying Doomsday. His music was undoubtedly one of many highlights of the present. His character was amazingly written and was humorous in each scene. His love story with Dame Whittington was extremely charming. And though I used to be unhappy she didn’t find yourself with Pauline, the fairy-tale ending was beautiful. Lizzy Riley’s Dame was hilarious. Her power and engagement with the viewers have been wonderful on this demanding function. She was whimsical and marvellous. With heavy make-up and a vibrant costume, she seemed the half. I solely want extra costumes have been as extravagant as hers, because the present misplaced a little bit of the panto really feel with the dearth of camp outfits.
Image credit: Amy Riordan
Cat by Louis Hadfield was unbelievable. With snappy one-liners and nice supply, he was fascinating to look at. His mentions of the seven lives he has lived earlier than this one have been witty and the scouse accent added a captivating contact of authenticity. Julie, performed by Alice Roberts, was a splendidly stereotypical politician. And her character growth added depth to the narrative. Her rap in the long run was a nice shock and the power was wonderful, though sadly, we couldn’t hear her that nicely. Another welcome boost to the solid was Harrison Gee as Dom. His amazingly dangerous flirting with Dick and total chemistry have been nice to look at. And his reasonable and sceptical nature supplied an excellent juxtaposition to Julie.
Who actually stole the present was Dog, portrayed by James Allen. He was merely beautiful. From the genius costume (I gained’t spoil it for you, it deserves to be seen in person) to his unenthusiastic barking become existential disaster, he performed the half so nicely. With just one or two traces in the entire present, he managed to command the viewers’s consideration with a magnetic stage presence. His facial expressions and physique language within the background of each scene have been simply “chef’s kiss”. The background was sensible throughout the entire present. Every character was doing one thing and wherever you seemed on stage, you’d see the actors absolutely engaged. A person choking and receiving the Heimlich manoeuvre within the background of the splendidly messy double date was an particularly good contact.
Image credit: Amy Riordan
Breaking the fourth wall and speaking concerning the present being a panto was presumably executed a bit too many instances. One of this remarks self-criticised the present for being slow-paced, which I wouldn’t agree with on the entire. I would even go so far as to argue that the present was barely rushed in the direction of the tip. I’d say although that the scene modifications have been a bit too lengthy. The use of two cubes painted on totally different sides as varied objects, primarily tables and benches, was attention-grabbing and was executed nicely artistically, however slowed down the scene modifications considerably and felt bizarre and, frankly, form of pointless. The complete set left me with some questions. Mainly, did the drawings of London’s skyline and bushes have to maneuver up and down a lot? Why did Hyde park look equivalent to the forest? And why, oh why, was there an enormous gentle bulb?
From the technical perspective, the present considerably struggled and felt unpolished. The sound was a bit off. The loudspeakers made random noises, some actors have been overpowered by the music and there have been moments of static suggestions. These little incidents have been unlucky, because the sound was principally good and the music and singing have been thrilling to hearken to. Similarly with the lights, though principally executed nicely, one thing appeared off. Some observe spots didn’t fairly observe the actors and there have been scenes have been the lighting selections didn’t appear logical to me. Although among the unintended mishaps have been fortunately hidden among the many deliberate ones, total there have been issues which might be anticipated on opening night time, however not on the second day of the present.
An enormous shoutout goes to the writers, Jude Crawley, Naima Clarvis and Toria White. Despite some flaws, the script was nice. Raising surprisingly many political subjects, together with anti-homeless infrastructure, world warming and gender inequality, the writers nonetheless managed to maintain it gentle and humorous. For occasion, the Taylor Swift lyrics trade was hilarious, though appeared under-appreciated by the viewers. With the present being simply over two hours, it didn’t really feel that lengthy and nothing appeared out of place.
Opting for a not so fairy-tale of a narrative, however making it in a fairy-tale approach, this present has almost every part you’d count on from a pantomime: a lovable predominant character, naïve and candy love tales, a fan-favourite villain and loads of viewers interactions. I’d undoubtedly suggest.
3.5/5
CUADC/Footlights Pantomime 2023: Dick Whittington and His Cat is exhibiting from twenty second of November to 2nd of December on the ADC Theatre. Book your tickets here.
Featured picture credit: Mary O’Shaughnessy
