Reviews
Dick Whittington, Pendle Productions
This panto is pitched at just the right level to appeal to all ages, so whether you're thinking of taking the little ones to a show or just want an entertaining night out, you could do a lot worse than go along and join in the fun.
It's one of the happiest shows I've ever seen, with smiles galore from both principles and chorus - the latter made up of local youngsters, mainly from Stagewise Theatre School. There's plenty of rapport with the audience too, with everyone quickly joining in to boo the excellent King Rat (Jamie Wilson) and single with Idle Jack (Callum Arlott )
Rocky Ball, in an ever-changing variety of costumes and wigs, is a superb Sarah the Cook, while there are fine performances too from Rachel Meacham (Fairy), Amanda Middleton (Dick Whittington), Mark Briggs (Alderman Fitzwarren) and Tamara Lee Smart (Alice Fitzwarren). But my favourite character was Isabelle Woywode's Tommy the Cat, whoose true-to-life feline movements had me spellbound.
It's a pity that the company had chosen to use hand-held mikes and sing to pre-recorded music, but with so many good things about the production - not least a wonderful undersea scene - it is a minor niggle that I can cheerfully overlook. Who knows what King Rat might do if I don't?
Dick Whittington runs until New Years Eve