Association of Community Theatre

Reviews - January 2018

DICK WHITTINGTON

Bacup Royal Court Theatre Group

Produced by Nick Daye

Directed and Choreographed by Claire Ashworth and Michael Haworth

 

One of this season’s most popular pantomimes is Dick Whittington.  It is uncanny how, each year, one pantomime title proves to be most popular amongst performing groups.

 

Not having seen a pantomime at the Royal Court Theatre since its reorganisation, I was looking forward to this outing, and I was not disappointed.  What a superb show Bacup RCT presented, almost professional standard, (I say almost only because there was no live band) but otherwise it stands with the best that the pantomime season has to offer, amateur or professional.

 

Superb cast, superb scenery, superb costumes, superb make-up, all made for a wonderful visit to the theatre. I was also impressed by an excellent souvenir programme containing information about the genesis of the story of the pantomime version of Dick Whittington.

 

You will, by now, have gathered that I thoroughly enjoyed this presentation.  From the opening chorus number to the final curtain, the show was non-stop fun and laughter and the youngsters in the audience contributed much to the proceedings.  They were caught up in story the whole of the way, and were sometimes ahead of the performers.  The various scenes between musical numbers were not too long that they lost the youngsters’ attention, and neither were the musical numbers too long.  In short, this was a well-conceived pantomime.

 

In the name role, Claire Ashworth was the typical, thigh-slapping principal boy, full of energy and, together with Tommy, the Cat, played by Alice Masterson, they created a wonderful pair seeking fame and fortune in London.  For Tommy, a non-speaking role, the performance by Alice was superb, never over-played, but always helping the story move along.

 

Then Dick met Sarah, the Cook.  Michael Haworth, was an excellent pantomime dame with a seemingly endless supply of costumes, created by The Boyz.  They were outlandish, colourful and fitted like a glove.  The twerking section was a joy to behold, and so well done.  Many congratulations, Michael, on creating such a lovable character.  The interaction with the audience was excellent and he soon got everyone on side.

 

Her son, Idle Jack, played by Kieran Jefferson, was Idle in name only.  Kieran never stopped.  This was a performance and a half, with the audience on his side from the very first entrance.  The “Oi, oi, oi”  from the children in the audience (and some of the mums and dads, too) is still  ringing in my ears.  Never over the top, this was a finely tuned performance from this young actor.  Excellent.

In London we met Alice Fitzwarren (Emmeline Greenwood) daughter of Alderman Fitzwarren (Gary Haworth).  Emmeline gave a very well tuned portrayal of the daughter of the Alderman who falls in love with the penniless Dick Whittington.  Gary was sufficiently aloof to command the stage whenever necessary.

 

Alice’s pet cat, Thomasina, was played by Megan Ashworth.  Hilariously scared of rats, Megan gave a lovely performance.  Well done.

 

In typical pantomime style, we were introduced to the baddies.  Here we had King and Queen Rat played by Stephen Wood and Rebecca Ashworth respectively.  What superb performances both of them played.  Booed whenever they appeared, they created mayhem and magic whenever they could.  It was only after the show, when I was able to meet the cast, that I learned that this was the first time on stage for Rebecca.  I would never have known; Rebecca’s performance was confident and assured and she was certainly the ideal foil for Stephen’s energetic King Rat.  Well done, both of you.

 

On the good side we met Fairy Bowbells, played by Gina Cole.  I enjoyed her every entrance when she had the audience shouting “Ding-Dong”. (reminded me of Leslie Phillips and his signature response to a pretty lady).  With her Ellen Green voice, (Ellen Green was Audrey in “Little Shop of Horrors”), Gina portrayed the very essence of good. Her entrances were signalled by a whoosh of stars, and with her starlit wand this Good Fairy would triumph in the end – and it was a triumph of a performance, too.

 

A scene stealer of a role, whenever he appeared was Captain Birdtable, played by Karen McNulty.  It was only when I looked at the programme that I found out this was not a male in the role.  Congratulations, Karen, you had me hoodwinked.  There was a delightful section when in the sweetshop, Captain Birdtable was stealing sweets.  The audience were screaming “Thief” much to the bewilderment of those on stage.  It seems that this was the first time the audience had reacted so loudly.  They will certainly be ready for this response next time.

 

As I said at the beginning of this review, that this was a superb cast.  It also benefitted from having an excellent backing ensemble of performers and dancers.  The dancers, led by principal dancer, Rheanna Thomas, were pupils of Dansworks, a local Dance Academy.  They were excellent, testament to the hard work of the Academy – and they smiled!  All were good movers and all knew their routines with no waiting for a lead.  A dance interlude can sometimes be a distraction from the narrative, but in this pantomime, they were an integral part of the story.  Very well done indeed.

 

I really must also commend the whole backstage company for creating such a superb show.  And I really must highlight the superb make-up team.  What a good job they made with every performer’s make-up, absolutely correct for each character. Scenery, lighting, sound balance and scene changes were first class.  I particularly appreciated some of the ‘point’ music, even though some of it might not have been known to the younger members of the audience.  I particularly liked “Love Is a Many Splendored Thing”.  Congratulations to the young lady on the sound deck in the pit. All the tracks were right on cue.

 

As you would expect from a pantomime with the title “Dick Whittington”, there were some double-entendres, and a hint of innuendo here and there, but it was never salacious  and was certainly over the heads of the youngsters in the audience.  I also appreciated the fact that there were not too many “in” jokes, which can sometimes spoil a narrative, especially if it is funnier for the performers rather than the audience.

 

This was a deserved full house for this superb presentation.  My congratulations to everyone.