DICK WHITTINGTON REVIEWS
Dick Whittington and his Cat The Stage In March, director Colin Blumenau is riding the length of the country on horseback to raise £150,000 to support the artistic development of the Theatre Royal. No greater testament could he have left behind before he mounts that steed than the wonderfully warm, intimate and magical pantomime that is Dick Whittington.
It feels almost as if the players are performing in your own front room. Daniel O’Brien’s script is witty, composer and lyricist Peter White’s songs are cheerful and tuneful and play craftily with all manner of sources from Mozart to Ravel, and the company is pitch perfect vocally and dramatically.
Gareth Bennett-Ryan is an engaging Richard Whittington, forthright and true. Hannah Blake is a lovely Alice and sings with panache. Stephen Weller as Sarah the Cook uses his considerable vocal expertise to impressive effect, as well as displaying all those ridiculous frocks (he wears an Aga cooker for the walk down) to perfection. Corinna Powlesland, garishly dressed and made up as the evil Queen Rat scares everyone, while Victoria Butler as good Fairy Bowbells, is a mini riot all to herself. Lizzie Franks swings her feline tail beguilingly as Tommy the Cat.
Production designer Will Hargreaves is responsible for the attractive story-book sets and Sarina Hosking’s costumes are a delight. The rats adopting sunglasses when in Morocco is just one of the myriad amusing touches in this fabulous show.
by Hugh Homan
Dick Whittington and His Cat (Bury St Edmunds Theatre Royal)
****
Do you know the quotation which begins “The female of the species…”? It’s certainly true of the [Daniel O’Brien] and Peter White version of the story of Dick Whittington and His Cat, for opposing our resourceful moggie Tommy (Lizzie Franks) is none other than Queen Rat. Corinna Powlesland and her troupe of ratlings from the Hazlewood Dance Studio are a force to be reckoned with.
Sarina Hoskins’ costumes put us firmly into the reign of [Edward III and the opening number is a chilling ditty about the Black Death with its “Ring a ring of roses” connexion. Not that you’d have known it, for the amplification at the performance I saw seemed at odd with the Georgian theatre’s own pin-drop acoustics. It was a pity, for White has a nice way with lyrics as well as tunes (Rossini’s “Cat duet” and “Largo al factotum” among the latter).
It took a couple of scenes for Stephen Weller as Sarah the Cook to get the measure of his audience, but he’s a Dame to keep an eye – and a ear – open for in the future. A fine baritone voice with a firm falsetto on occasion and a likeable personality as well. A Japanese party on a cultural exchange visit was in the audience (I’m not quite sure what they made of it all) and Weller’s asides in Japanese deserved the applause which they received.
Ratlings apart, there’s no chorus in this production, and both Victoria Butler (a débutante sort of Fairy Bowbells) and Martin Richardson (Captain Lubber) take on a number of contrasting roles. Tony Stansfield is an Alderman Fitzwarren with attitude and also sings very well. Franks is thoroughly cat-like as Tommy, lithe, laid-back and oh-so-slightly disdainful of mere two-legged creatures.
Hannah Blake’s Alice not only looks pretty in her medieval gowns but makes the part one of a girl who is prepared to make up her own mind, and stick to it. She’s well-matched with Gareth Bennett-Ryan’s Dick, a spry young country lad who also has a streak of iron determination in him. They excel both as soloists and in the duets and concerted numbers. Grant Martin and Nicky Caulfield in the pit made two musicians and a variety of instruments ring out with considerable force.
- by Anne Morley-Priestman
Public Reviews—Glen Pearce
It’s not over until the fat lady sings, or in this case a man, dressed as a lady, dressed as a cooking range – it can only be one thing, panto time and far from heralding the end, Dick Whittington proves to be a deliciously devilish start to the festive season.
Young Richard Whittington has heard the legend of streets paved with gold in London and so sets out to find his fortune. He soon discovers, though, that instead of gold the streets are overrun with vermin, led by Queen Rat, in a plot worthy of a Bond movie, intent on spreading the plague as a method to wipe out the human race and see stinky subjects take over the world.
Fortunately, Dick’s cat, Tommy, has a taste for dismembering rats and so soon becomes public enemy number one for the evil Queen. Can Dick save London, get his girl and claim his fortune?
The script offers a remarkably strong central plot for a panto – yes, all the must-have elements are there, the slapstick, the audience participation, and the obligatory sing-along but, underneath all, the tomfoolery there is a simple boy meets girl (and cat) story that adds a sense of realism in all the clowning.
That’s not to say that its’ not all very silly and great fun and the gags and routines will have audiences of all ages laughing and groaning in equal measure. There are enough double-entendres around young Richard’s name to make the adults blush and enough visual humour to keep the younger, more innocent, members of the audience amused.
Colin Blumenau directs his own script (under his pen-name Daniel O’Brien) with pace and flair, allowing room for the absurdity but never letting it get totally out of control. There are moments when the pace slips slightly but that is easily remedied during the run. Will Hargreaves’ simple but effective set allows swift transformations between scenes, while Sarina Hosking has great fun with some impressive costume designs.
The company demonstrates once again that you don’t need to rely on TV soap stars to stage an effective panto and the small cast works well together and is obviously having great fun with the material.
Gareth Bennett-Ryan as the affable Dick charms and Hannah Blake makes an assured professional debut as love interest Alice. Lizzie Franks gives an impressive physicality to feline Tommy, while Victoria Butler gives her Fairy Bowbells (one of three parts she plays) a nicely dark sardonic air.
Corinna Powlesland’s vile vermin Queen Rat is delightfully dark, managing to turn the normally saccharine-sweet My Favourite Things from The Sound Of Music into a comical rodent recruiting regime.
No panto is complete without its Dame and here we are offered Sarah The Cook, an opera singing diva resigned to having to whip up culinary creations for Alderman Fitzwarren. Just as likely to burst into an aria from Carmen as to provide lunch, Stephen Weller not only gives this Diva a roof rattling operatic voice but also makes ‘her’ a believable woman in a series of show-stealing frocks. Think Maria Callas meets Lady GaGa and you get the idea.
There are some nice musical touches from musical director Grant Martin, a suite of operatic numbers, comedy songs and even a feline nod to Lloyd Webber’s Cats.
Dick Whittington is a return to the more gentle art of panto, relying on performance and script to provide the belly laughs rather than the all-out stupidity that some festive offering rely on. It may be highly traditional but it’s still full of topical references. With an opera singing diva dame and tap dancing rats spoofing The Sound of Music what’s not to like?
Theatreworld:
With the Dame prone to darting off to sing in operatic mode, and a cat that meows it’s way to everyone’s heart, you can be sure this traditional family pantomime has plenty for all. As usual it was the adults in the audience who were more vocal than the youngsters, and this seemed to underline what panto is all about.
Unlike so many other pantomimes this one has an element of truth to it as there was a Dick Whittington, and he did end up as the first Mayor of London. His travels getting to that point are subject in this production to a few deviations including a stormy sea trip to Morocco. Bright underwater scenes following the shipwreck were added and were much fun to watch. The bizarre events when the characters meet mirror images after making to dry land all add to the extended and entertaining storyline.
Playing the affable Dick Whittington was Gareth Bennett-Ryan who soon found the audience was behind him – well that’s panto for you. The characterisation of the slightly shy yet determined Dick soon found favour with many including of course Alice (Hannah Blake) who immediately fell for his charm and good looks. Excellent chemistry between these two on stage and it was not long before the audience were doing the ‘Ah’s’.
Supporting Dick was his ever faithful and highly versatile cat Tommy played by Lizzie Franks. The moggie’s lines were easy to learn as they only consisted of ‘Meows’ but it was the timings, physical expression and most of all the articulation that Lizzie made so successful in this role.
Trying to coordinate all that was going on stage was the scatty Fairy Bowbells played superbly by Victoria Butler. She was a glutton for punishment because she also performed in quick succession the cheeky Boatswain Beatrice and also the flirty shop assistant. Her partner in crime was Martin Richardson who was the Teacher and Captain Lubber and they proved quite a mischievous pair.
Returning to the Dame, well Stephen Weller was having the time of his life as Sarah the Cook. The Dame’s huge array of colourful and outrageous costumes was a perfect match for the gregarious personality of the character. Plenty of panto puns made for a totally enthralling experience. The long-suffering Fitzwarren eventually caved in to the charms of the Dame, and the rest you can guess.
The boos and hisses were completely reserved for Queen Rat (Corinna Powlesland) and she left no stone unturned to ensure her evil nature got under the skins of the audience. Helping her out in the task of trying to take over the world were her little troupe The Ratlings and they were superb in their choreography and singing.
Music under the direction of Grant Martin provided plenty of upbeat and well-known music, providing a temptation to join in.
This colourful and energetic production by the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds is a fun filled event that appeals to all age groups and hits the nail on the head as a traditional family friendly pantomime.
East Anglian Daily Times 5/12/11
DIRTY rats run the City of London, spreading a dangerous contagion; the disease they unleash threatens good folks’ very way of life; all the money has been stolen, leaving the poorest and not the rats to shoulder the blame.
A pantomime is supposed to be an escape from newspaper headlines and life’s other cares but it is too easy to draw the parallels at the Theatre Royal to think nobody made the connection when choosing this year’s festive fare.
The tale of Dick Whittington is based on the true story of London’s first mayor, but scratch a little deeper and it has plenty of relevance in 2011. The Theatre Royal’s version even includes a ship’s captain who looks and sounds like a younger Robert Peston.
Fear not, though: apart from one joke about the credit crunch the metaphor is not pursued and within minutes this charming rib-tickler of a production has banished all thoughts of the mess outside.
All the elements are there: handsome hero; refreshingly modern heroine; bumbling old father; a baddie just the right side of frightening, rocking music, bright, clever sets and a raunchy dame.
Sarah the Cook, played by Stephen Weller, appears bottom of the cast list but he and his outfits are one of the top reasons this panto takes off. Each scene brings a hilarious change, each costume reflecting the setting. A seagull tops a hairdo and lifebuoys on his chest welcome all aboard for the trip to Morocco. The final scene has gents wondering how they will ever again view the mother-in-law’s Aga in the same way.
Weller, reflecting this production as a whole, does not overdo the arch adult humour, making up for it with an infectious smile and a song. This being Bury St Edmunds, there is also a nice line in opera gags, part of a highly entertaining score, including numbers from Adele to Andy Williams via One finger, one thumb as audience participation kicks in.
The lasting feeling is one of great warmth and joy, largely down to the uniformly excellent cast. All are worthy of praise but perhaps special mention should go to Victoria Butler, who, as Fairy Bowbells, bosses the final scenes with Martin Richardson’s Captain Lubber. She is a scatty, eccentric presence, who helps leave the audience laughing and singing along.
Hopefully, Friday night’s sparse feel to the audience is not a sign that pantos are this year beyond people’s pockets. The price of a ticket to this production will prove a solid investment for anyone wanting to raise more than a modicum of Christmas cheer among family and friends this bleak midwinter.
Mark Crossley
It feels almost as if the players are performing in your own front room. Daniel O’Brien’s script is witty, composer and lyricist Peter White’s songs are cheerful and tuneful and play craftily with all manner of sources from Mozart to Ravel, and the company is pitch perfect vocally and dramatically.
Gareth Bennett-Ryan is an engaging Richard Whittington, forthright and true. Hannah Blake is a lovely Alice and sings with panache. Stephen Weller as Sarah the Cook uses his considerable vocal expertise to impressive effect, as well as displaying all those ridiculous frocks (he wears an Aga cooker for the walk down) to perfection. Corinna Powlesland, garishly dressed and made up as the evil Queen Rat scares everyone, while Victoria Butler as good Fairy Bowbells, is a mini riot all to herself. Lizzie Franks swings her feline tail beguilingly as Tommy the Cat.
Production designer Will Hargreaves is responsible for the attractive story-book sets and Sarina Hosking’s costumes are a delight. The rats adopting sunglasses when in Morocco is just one of the myriad amusing touches in this fabulous show.
by Hugh Homan
Dick Whittington and His Cat (Bury St Edmunds Theatre Royal)
****
Do you know the quotation which begins “The female of the species…”? It’s certainly true of the [Daniel O’Brien] and Peter White version of the story of Dick Whittington and His Cat, for opposing our resourceful moggie Tommy (Lizzie Franks) is none other than Queen Rat. Corinna Powlesland and her troupe of ratlings from the Hazlewood Dance Studio are a force to be reckoned with.
Sarina Hoskins’ costumes put us firmly into the reign of [Edward III and the opening number is a chilling ditty about the Black Death with its “Ring a ring of roses” connexion. Not that you’d have known it, for the amplification at the performance I saw seemed at odd with the Georgian theatre’s own pin-drop acoustics. It was a pity, for White has a nice way with lyrics as well as tunes (Rossini’s “Cat duet” and “Largo al factotum” among the latter).
It took a couple of scenes for Stephen Weller as Sarah the Cook to get the measure of his audience, but he’s a Dame to keep an eye – and a ear – open for in the future. A fine baritone voice with a firm falsetto on occasion and a likeable personality as well. A Japanese party on a cultural exchange visit was in the audience (I’m not quite sure what they made of it all) and Weller’s asides in Japanese deserved the applause which they received.
Ratlings apart, there’s no chorus in this production, and both Victoria Butler (a débutante sort of Fairy Bowbells) and Martin Richardson (Captain Lubber) take on a number of contrasting roles. Tony Stansfield is an Alderman Fitzwarren with attitude and also sings very well. Franks is thoroughly cat-like as Tommy, lithe, laid-back and oh-so-slightly disdainful of mere two-legged creatures.
Hannah Blake’s Alice not only looks pretty in her medieval gowns but makes the part one of a girl who is prepared to make up her own mind, and stick to it. She’s well-matched with Gareth Bennett-Ryan’s Dick, a spry young country lad who also has a streak of iron determination in him. They excel both as soloists and in the duets and concerted numbers. Grant Martin and Nicky Caulfield in the pit made two musicians and a variety of instruments ring out with considerable force.
- by Anne Morley-Priestman
Public Reviews—Glen Pearce
It’s not over until the fat lady sings, or in this case a man, dressed as a lady, dressed as a cooking range – it can only be one thing, panto time and far from heralding the end, Dick Whittington proves to be a deliciously devilish start to the festive season.
Young Richard Whittington has heard the legend of streets paved with gold in London and so sets out to find his fortune. He soon discovers, though, that instead of gold the streets are overrun with vermin, led by Queen Rat, in a plot worthy of a Bond movie, intent on spreading the plague as a method to wipe out the human race and see stinky subjects take over the world.
Fortunately, Dick’s cat, Tommy, has a taste for dismembering rats and so soon becomes public enemy number one for the evil Queen. Can Dick save London, get his girl and claim his fortune?
The script offers a remarkably strong central plot for a panto – yes, all the must-have elements are there, the slapstick, the audience participation, and the obligatory sing-along but, underneath all, the tomfoolery there is a simple boy meets girl (and cat) story that adds a sense of realism in all the clowning.
That’s not to say that its’ not all very silly and great fun and the gags and routines will have audiences of all ages laughing and groaning in equal measure. There are enough double-entendres around young Richard’s name to make the adults blush and enough visual humour to keep the younger, more innocent, members of the audience amused.
Colin Blumenau directs his own script (under his pen-name Daniel O’Brien) with pace and flair, allowing room for the absurdity but never letting it get totally out of control. There are moments when the pace slips slightly but that is easily remedied during the run. Will Hargreaves’ simple but effective set allows swift transformations between scenes, while Sarina Hosking has great fun with some impressive costume designs.
The company demonstrates once again that you don’t need to rely on TV soap stars to stage an effective panto and the small cast works well together and is obviously having great fun with the material.
Gareth Bennett-Ryan as the affable Dick charms and Hannah Blake makes an assured professional debut as love interest Alice. Lizzie Franks gives an impressive physicality to feline Tommy, while Victoria Butler gives her Fairy Bowbells (one of three parts she plays) a nicely dark sardonic air.
Corinna Powlesland’s vile vermin Queen Rat is delightfully dark, managing to turn the normally saccharine-sweet My Favourite Things from The Sound Of Music into a comical rodent recruiting regime.
No panto is complete without its Dame and here we are offered Sarah The Cook, an opera singing diva resigned to having to whip up culinary creations for Alderman Fitzwarren. Just as likely to burst into an aria from Carmen as to provide lunch, Stephen Weller not only gives this Diva a roof rattling operatic voice but also makes ‘her’ a believable woman in a series of show-stealing frocks. Think Maria Callas meets Lady GaGa and you get the idea.
There are some nice musical touches from musical director Grant Martin, a suite of operatic numbers, comedy songs and even a feline nod to Lloyd Webber’s Cats.
Dick Whittington is a return to the more gentle art of panto, relying on performance and script to provide the belly laughs rather than the all-out stupidity that some festive offering rely on. It may be highly traditional but it’s still full of topical references. With an opera singing diva dame and tap dancing rats spoofing The Sound of Music what’s not to like?
Theatreworld:
With the Dame prone to darting off to sing in operatic mode, and a cat that meows it’s way to everyone’s heart, you can be sure this traditional family pantomime has plenty for all. As usual it was the adults in the audience who were more vocal than the youngsters, and this seemed to underline what panto is all about.
Unlike so many other pantomimes this one has an element of truth to it as there was a Dick Whittington, and he did end up as the first Mayor of London. His travels getting to that point are subject in this production to a few deviations including a stormy sea trip to Morocco. Bright underwater scenes following the shipwreck were added and were much fun to watch. The bizarre events when the characters meet mirror images after making to dry land all add to the extended and entertaining storyline.
Playing the affable Dick Whittington was Gareth Bennett-Ryan who soon found the audience was behind him – well that’s panto for you. The characterisation of the slightly shy yet determined Dick soon found favour with many including of course Alice (Hannah Blake) who immediately fell for his charm and good looks. Excellent chemistry between these two on stage and it was not long before the audience were doing the ‘Ah’s’.
Supporting Dick was his ever faithful and highly versatile cat Tommy played by Lizzie Franks. The moggie’s lines were easy to learn as they only consisted of ‘Meows’ but it was the timings, physical expression and most of all the articulation that Lizzie made so successful in this role.
Trying to coordinate all that was going on stage was the scatty Fairy Bowbells played superbly by Victoria Butler. She was a glutton for punishment because she also performed in quick succession the cheeky Boatswain Beatrice and also the flirty shop assistant. Her partner in crime was Martin Richardson who was the Teacher and Captain Lubber and they proved quite a mischievous pair.
Returning to the Dame, well Stephen Weller was having the time of his life as Sarah the Cook. The Dame’s huge array of colourful and outrageous costumes was a perfect match for the gregarious personality of the character. Plenty of panto puns made for a totally enthralling experience. The long-suffering Fitzwarren eventually caved in to the charms of the Dame, and the rest you can guess.
The boos and hisses were completely reserved for Queen Rat (Corinna Powlesland) and she left no stone unturned to ensure her evil nature got under the skins of the audience. Helping her out in the task of trying to take over the world were her little troupe The Ratlings and they were superb in their choreography and singing.
Music under the direction of Grant Martin provided plenty of upbeat and well-known music, providing a temptation to join in.
This colourful and energetic production by the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds is a fun filled event that appeals to all age groups and hits the nail on the head as a traditional family friendly pantomime.
East Anglian Daily Times 5/12/11
DIRTY rats run the City of London, spreading a dangerous contagion; the disease they unleash threatens good folks’ very way of life; all the money has been stolen, leaving the poorest and not the rats to shoulder the blame.
A pantomime is supposed to be an escape from newspaper headlines and life’s other cares but it is too easy to draw the parallels at the Theatre Royal to think nobody made the connection when choosing this year’s festive fare.
The tale of Dick Whittington is based on the true story of London’s first mayor, but scratch a little deeper and it has plenty of relevance in 2011. The Theatre Royal’s version even includes a ship’s captain who looks and sounds like a younger Robert Peston.
Fear not, though: apart from one joke about the credit crunch the metaphor is not pursued and within minutes this charming rib-tickler of a production has banished all thoughts of the mess outside.
All the elements are there: handsome hero; refreshingly modern heroine; bumbling old father; a baddie just the right side of frightening, rocking music, bright, clever sets and a raunchy dame.
Sarah the Cook, played by Stephen Weller, appears bottom of the cast list but he and his outfits are one of the top reasons this panto takes off. Each scene brings a hilarious change, each costume reflecting the setting. A seagull tops a hairdo and lifebuoys on his chest welcome all aboard for the trip to Morocco. The final scene has gents wondering how they will ever again view the mother-in-law’s Aga in the same way.
Weller, reflecting this production as a whole, does not overdo the arch adult humour, making up for it with an infectious smile and a song. This being Bury St Edmunds, there is also a nice line in opera gags, part of a highly entertaining score, including numbers from Adele to Andy Williams via One finger, one thumb as audience participation kicks in.
The lasting feeling is one of great warmth and joy, largely down to the uniformly excellent cast. All are worthy of praise but perhaps special mention should go to Victoria Butler, who, as Fairy Bowbells, bosses the final scenes with Martin Richardson’s Captain Lubber. She is a scatty, eccentric presence, who helps leave the audience laughing and singing along.
Hopefully, Friday night’s sparse feel to the audience is not a sign that pantos are this year beyond people’s pockets. The price of a ticket to this production will prove a solid investment for anyone wanting to raise more than a modicum of Christmas cheer among family and friends this bleak midwinter.
Mark Crossley
