As
a regular visitor to the Regent, I was looking forward to seeing my
first Pantomime in this beautiful theatre. Dick Whittington followed
the traditional storyline but with a Stokie twist. It was full of
one-liners, audience participation, fantastic singing, dancing and
colourful costumes and scenery.
The
build up to Dick Whittington's entrance was brilliant, and got the
crowds hyped up for the very charismatic Jonathan Wilkes' bursting
onto the stage. He is a real crowd pleaser and clearly proud of his
roots and his links to Stoke, greeting the audience with 'Ay up me
ducks'.
Christian
Patterson, played one of the best Panto Dames I've seen 'Sarah the
Cook'. The banter between Wilkes and Patterson was hilarious, whether
scripted or not, it had the audience in stitches.
Alice
Fitzwarren (Louise Dearman) danced and sang her way to Dick's heart
and perfomed the very popular 'Let it Go' from Disney's Frozen. A
real stand out performance and she made it seem effortless.
Alderman
Fitzwarren (Simon Nehan) was the stuttering and dithery shopkeeper
and brother of Alice, he was sent on a wild goose chase when his
props were thrown into the audience and found their way into the
gallery. It had us doubled over with laughter to see him running
around the auditorium. Nehan doubled up as the Sultan at the end of
the show.
King
Rat was convincing as the panto baddy and had us 'hissing' and
'booing' but also impressed with his singing of Queen's 'I want it
all'.
There
were fight scenes, acrobatics and very well choreographed dancing and
staging. Costumes were amazing especially, Sarah the Cook's.
There is something for all the family, smutty double entendres based around the Christian name of the lead character and slapstick comedy for the younger audience.
A
laughter-filled show with my favourite part being my son, Luke
joining Wilkes on stage to sing and dance for the obligatory
sing-song.
The
show runs until 4th January 2015.
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