Dick Whittington

Published Thursday 28 December 2006 at 14:00 by Jeremy Brien

Shaun Williamson took time off from his television commitments in November to join in one of the great West Country traditions, riding along with  the Weston-super-Mare carnival in full King Rat costume to promote the town’s Christmas pantomime. He even encouraged boos and hisses en route. If only a small number of the estimated 100,000 crowd lining the streets that night visit the Playhouse, they will catch a splendidly traditional show, with a generous 16-strong troupe of professionals and wrapped in sumptuous costumes.

Williamson, who displays an unexpectedly strong singing voice, balances a tongue in cheek approach with some pretty evil plotting, even managing with Carys Gray’s hard-working Fairy Bow Bells to avoid the pitfalls of telling the story in rhyming couplets. The two other headliners, Jez Edwards as Idle Jack and Anna Kumble (Alice Fitzwarren), both refugees from children’s television, take a little while to settle but end up making strong contributions to the fast-moving proceedings.

Tom Solomon, in the title role, displays the vocal skills that won him the BBC Radio Voice of Musical Theatre 2005 award, while John Brenner (Sarah the Cook) and Leon Hamilton (Captain Cockle) help keep the laughter merrily bubbling.