Dick Whittington and His Fabulous Cat

Published Thursday 29 December 2005 at 11:00 by Alan Bowler

This is a traditional panto except it has a Dick with an Aussie accent. Richard Grieve plays the part with gusto and some panache, although his forte is undoubtedly acting rather than singing.

The show got off to a slow start, with lengthy dialogue between the fairy and King Rat. Mikki Rom rattled off her lines, at times too quickly for the audience, while Chris Rankin was excellent as the menacing King Rat, he just needs to wait for the booing to stop before delivering his next lines.

Keith Hopkins’ dame was well played with a good range of colourful costumes and Lorrie Brown was a beautiful Alice with a superb voice. There was good support from Gareth Davies, Leon Hamilton and Russell Lucas. Gary Birtles as Idle Jack worked hard to win the audience over, though some of his material was very dated. He succeeded in generating a genuine rapport the kids. Lydia Chapman excelled as the cat.

The panto burst into life in the second half, the UV scene was enjoyable and the finale excellent with wonderful costumes. All the cast and dancers combined with a good set and Brian Eades lighting to provide a very enjoyable production.