Dick Whittington with its rats, shipwreck and opulent Medieval transformations can often be a difficult panto to stage believably.
But Wakefield Theatre Royal have pulled out all stops with some wonderful story-book sets, spectacular costumes, excellent musical accompaniment and exciting choreography to make it so believable .
Daniel O’Brian’s script stays true to the original tale and includes every possible pantomime element from glamour and swashbuckling bravado to song sheets and lashings of slapstick comedy – its all there in abundance.
However with all this on a plate for them it’s a shame that some of the cast fail to do the production justice and its virtually left to John Currivan (King Rat) and Philippa Hogg (Fairy Bowbells and Bosun Beatrice) to drive the show and pull it together.
Currivan makes a superb King Rat. He’s threatening, nasty and evil but manages to strike the right balance so as not to terrify the younger audience members. He raps beautifully to the music and consolidate his character with some amazing ‘vermin’ movements.
Philippa Hogg is the show’s shinning star with amazing stage presence she sings, dances and leads the song sheet. The kids love her and even during her lengthy rhyming speeches an auditorium full of youngsters fell silent – they were so awestruck by her.
As Dick Whittington, Will Breckin is a good looking, fine voiced hero and combines well with Aaron Hunt’s gloriously physically lithesome purr-fect Tommy the Cat.
Runs until 3 January
Review by Liz Coggins