Before we head into the traditional village scene that opens most pantomimes our fairy, flying high above the stage at the Hawth Theatre, Crawley, delivers her opening monologue to Dick Whittington in a rap style, with a musical backing that sounds strangely familiar. It is only when we are introduced to Richard Henry Whittington, who proclaims his name with the same refrain used by Alexander Hamilton in the blockbuster West End musical, that this stroke of creative genius becomes more obvious.
Charlie Brooks, as Queen Rat, seems very comfortable in the role, extracting the usual “boos” and “hisses” from the audience. All her lines are in rhyming couplets as well, with occasional references to her TV character past, and her scenes with the glamourous, and almost permanently airborne, Fairy Bowbells (Gemma Hunt), who aims to thwart her plans to become Lord Mayor of London, all work very well.
As mentioned, once the smoke clears and the talented ensemble launch into a spectacularly executed opening number, we meet the hero of the tale, played with bucket loads of boyish charm by children’s TV presenter, David Ribi. He is accompanied by, as one would expect, his very athletic and gymnastic cat (Harri Nichols). The audience offer up many choices to name the cat, and tonight they choose, for some bizarre reason, Eileen.
Chrissie Perkins, as Alice Fitzwarren, looks every inch the part and has a crystal clear, and very powerful, singing voice with a huge vocal range that would rival Mariah Carey at her very best. She hits some incredibly high notes with consummate ease and works well with Cameron Blakely as her father, Alderman Fitzwarren, both to move the storyline along, and as Dick’s sugary-sweet love interest in the production.
Dominating the stage whenever she appears is the amazing Dame Dolly the Cook, played by the simply sensational Michael J Batchelor. He returns to the Hawth and the massively enthusiastic welcome that he receives from the moment he steps onto the stage is testament to the huge love that the Crawley audience have for all that he brings to the show. Whether it is the succession of simply stunning outfits, his ability to stray off the script and then back on without missing a beat, his impeccably timed and hilariously funny one-liners or his obvious connection with both cast and audience, he is a Dame at the very top of his game and a huge asset to this high quality production.
Dolly’s son, Billy, is played by another of Crawley’s pantomime favourites, Richard Franks. His ability to tackle the physical side of comedy and provide moments of slapstick magic compliments perfectly the wonderfully dry humour that his mother offers up and, together, they ensure that the laughs keep on coming with incredible rapidity throughout the piece.
There are a succession of highlights and memorable moments that give Dick Whittington the “wow factor” and really make the production stand out, including a very clever scene where Dick Whittington appears in two places at exactly the same time, a 3D “shipwreck” scene that has the entire audience squealing and jumping out of their seats and a large scale magic trick that just has to be seen to be believed.
From the opening routine, right through to the magical finale, dancers Tilly Ford, Effie Rae Dyson, Elle Crees, Tom O’Brien and Jamie Jonathan work their socks off to deliver Simon Hardwick‘s supremely tight choreography and, in yet another show of creative freedom, they, and some of the juvenile chorus, are given speaking roles, probably in recognition of all the hard work that they do to enhance the pantomime production. Special mention also definitely goes to the final dancer, Josh Bamling, whose revealing costume, as the Sultan of Morocco, emphasises, all too well, that these young men and women are at the very peak of incredible physical fitness.
With Dick Whittington, Paul Hendy and Evolution Productions have proved, once again, that there are three essential parts to a successful festive season, a lovely Christmas lunch, plenty of mince pies and a visit to the absolutely fantastic Hawth Theatre family pantomime.
***** Five Stars