PANTO returned to Bromsgrove’s Artrix tonight when Dick Whittington came to town, with all the pre-Christmas sparkle and glitz this time of year deserves.
The story centres on our hero Dick who heads to London with his cat Tommy, in search of making his fortune. But, standing in his way is King Rat and his evil ratlings.
The whole cast and dancers played their part in making this a memorable production for those watching.
Tasha Shanade was a solid Fairy Bowbells, bringing the sparkly magic to the stage, encouraging the crowd to boo the baddie King Rat and having some fantastic exchanges with the villain. Likewise, Oliver Broad as King Rat, with his evil persona, coaxed the audience into giving those boos each time he appeared.
Picture by Tony Slade of Flatcap Photos. s
Michelle Roberts was great as Alice Fitzwarren, playing the tender character well and Rebecca Dyer was also fantastic as our hero Dick. Their duets together were a joy to watch and you willed the pair of them to get together for the happy ending.
Picture by Tony Slade of Flatcap Photos. s
Pete Picton had plenty of humorous moments as Alderman Fitzwarren, particularly the crew drill at the start of the second half.
Eboni-Rae Thomas-Witter as Tommy was the most athletic cat you will see this panto season (or in any other walk of life for that matter). She brought plenty of energy to the stage and justifiably got cheers as she saw off the ratlings.
Kilian Perpetuini was made for his role as Idle Jack, whipping the audience up into a frenzy and getting them to shout everytime anyone went close to the special present he had for Alice. He also had plenty of funny moments on the stage.
Picture by Tony Slade of Flatcap Photos. s
And William Hastings was excellent as the panto dame Sarah the Cook, with a flurry of outrageous frocks, one-liners and loads of audience interaction with the crowd. Dwayne in the second row who particularly took the dame’s fancy probably never expected to be in this show as he headed to Artrix tonight.
Picture by Tony Slade of Flatcap Photos. s
Among the hilarious highlights were the ‘Amaze-on order’ scene, featuring a parody of the 12 Days of Christmas (listing gifts the dame had ordered online) – from lipsticks and ‘5 toilet rolls’ to a face mask made from whipped cream. There was plenty of frantic shenanigans as they lined up the items and battled to get back to their places in time for their lines, creating much hilarity.
The cake-baking scene also included some great slapstick and visual gags.
The set was cleverly done, giving the show a grand stage space and enabling the cast to switch from a variety of locations, from London town to on board the Good Ship Lollipop and the Sultan’s Palace. The screen for the shipwreck scene was a masterstroke and generated a few chuckles.
Picture by Tony Slade of Flatcap Photos. s
The only thing that could do with altering is the mic volume on some of the songs. There are some super singers in this cast and there were some wonderful harmonies to enjoy but they did get drowned out by the music in some of the numbers. That is easily rectified though, going forward, and this show deserves to have a fantastic festive run at this venue we all love.
All in all, this was a great seasonal show – well done to Director Paul Lavers and his team from Elite Pantomimes – the hard work clearly put in has certainly paid off.
Dick Whittington at Artrix is well worth a watch – and there is plenty of time to catch this production. Performances run until December 29 with shows at various times.
Picture by Tony Slade of Flatcap Photos. s
Visit: artrixbromsgrove.co.uk/whats-on/all-shows/dick-whittington for more information on the dates, times and to book tickets.
