Dick Whittington and His Cat

Published Thursday 7 December 2006 at 12:05 by Nuala Calvi

Getting the author of Shopping and F***ing to write a pantomime might be expected to result in a sordid satire of a harmless Christmas tradition but as it turns out, Mark Ravenhill is something of a devotee of the art form.

Granted, there are more than a few edgy moments (Sarah the Cook’s quips about dipping soldiers in her runny egg and sucking on something to moisten up her passage, for example) but nothing that doesn’t seem to fly over the heads of the under-tens in the audience.

Ravenhill packs in all the classic panto moments - from naff jokes to sing-a-longs, sweetie-throwing and birthday call outs - even if it does at times feel like the boxes are being dutifully ticked off one by one.

And perhaps that’s what makes the production’s first half somewhat lacklustre, as constant apologies for the script and nods to the well-known creative team give the message that everyone’s just a little bit above it all.

Indeed the music and choreography, produced by an impressive collection of creative talent, often feels more like something out of a West End musical than a pantomime. But, as if remembering why they’re here, the numbers are never quite allowed to take off, with a promising dance routine in the ratty underworld gurgling slowly down the drain.

Roger Lloyd Pack’s dame starts off as stiff as his corset, getting through his lines with laconic half-heartedness, although by the tenth costume change he’s warmed up enough to start enjoying himself.

In fact, everything gets a bit more pacey in the second act, thanks in no small part to the stunning Summer Strallen as Dick who, accompanied by her hilarious karate-chopping cat (Derek Elroy), is one of the few performers who manages to hit the right note of energetic bubbliness throughout.

By the finale the panto spirit has finally captured the production and its audience, even if a quick history lesson at the end reminds us that, despite appearances, we’re still at the Barbican.