Simon Vail
Details
Venue: Theatre Royal, Windsor
Dates & Times: 23rd November 2018 - 6th January 2019, various times
Tickets: From £23
Book early for the wonderfully witty world premiere, packed with punch, puns, pies and panache! Will Dick find fame and fortune in old London Town? Can Tommy rid Morocco of those wicked rats? Will it all end happily? You know the answers, but you’ll still adore the experience. Forget 2018 - it’s behind you! The whole family will love our traditional thigh-slapping, cross-dressing, no-messing tale, told with a topical, tropical twist…
Our Verdict
This 80-year-old panto is brilliant fun, says Alice Cairns
It’s been many, many years since I saw a pantomime, and - making my way to Windsor’s Theatre Royal amid crowds of excitable children - I was a little worried that I’d have become rusty. But it seems that, just like riding a bike, you never forget how to panto. Within minutes those deeply ingrained memories had come flooding back to me. Taking a quick glance around the theatre, I could see that I wasn’t the only 20-something in the audience getting enthusiastically stuck in. And why not? What better way to capture the Christmas spirit than with a spot of panto magic?
This year marks a special anniversary for Windsor’s Theatre Royal – their pantomime is now officially 80 years old! Dick Whittington is the perfect birthday celebration: a feel-good extravaganza for all the family with a distinct music hall feel, a festival of song, dance and laughs.
You probably know the story, but just in case you needed a refresher: Dick is our wholesome hero, a good-hearted lad who’s travelled to London in the company of his rat-catching fox, Basil Brush (the eagle-eyed amongst you may spot here a departure from the original fable). He falls for the beautiful Alice, while Basil makes short work of the rats plaguing her father’s shop. But the course of true love never did run smooth, and Dick is falsely incriminated by the evil Queen Rat. Will he win back the trust of his new friends, prove his love for Alice and become Mayor of London? You’ll have to wait and see.
A glance at the programme will tell you that there have been some last minute cast changes here. Loyal viewers of ITV will have noticed that Anne Hegarty, initially cast as Queen Rat, has been spirited away to the Australian jungle. Not to worry – Anita Harris does a brilliant job in her place. She struts across the stage dressed in glittering green and black, singing up a storm (her rendition of Bad is particularly memorable). And diehard fans of The Governess can catch Anne Hegarty in the role from December 23 onwards.
The entire cast delivers sparkling, assured performances. A.J Jenks as Dick and Megan Jones as Alice do a great job as the earnest hero and his winning love interest. Kevin Cruise as Jack had the audience instantly onside, delivering both scripted jokes and improvised asides with enviable comic timing. His double act with Stephen Blakely, Windsor’s pantomime dame, was slick and hilarious, and they managed to draw fresh laughs from even the most predictable gags – pies in the face and misbehaving sausages included. Their rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas, assisted by a lovably hapless Mark Read, was the high point of the evening (a quick shout-out here to the costume department, who decked Stephen’s Dame in a veritable rainbow of scene-stealing gowns.) Everyone’s favourite fox Basil Brush was also brilliant, a lovable scamp who sang a selection of incredibly catchy numbers (who let the fox out? Boom, boom, boom boom). His leather-clad rendition of A Rat out of Hell was also a standout.
It’s clear that 80 years of experience haven’t gone to waste – the talented team at Windsor has got the panto format down to a tee. It’s a glitzy spectacle with plenty of heart, complete with jokes and songs for the whole family. Adults will chuckle at the sly Brexit barbs, children will be treated to plenty of slapstick, and audience members of all ages will come away a crucial degree or two more festive. Highly recommended.