Dick Whittington and his Cat
Sun, 11 Oct 2009, 06:15 pmGordon the Optom1 post in thread
Dick Whittington and his Cat
Sun, 11 Oct 2009, 06:15 pm‘The Adventures of Dick Whittington and his Cat’, a pantomime written by Tony Nicholls, is being presented by the Wembley Theatre Company, at the Wembley Community Centre on the 16th, 17th and 18th October at 7.30 pm.
I saw this community production at The Don Russell Performing Arts Centre in Thornlie, where it presented a single performance.
After being thrown out of home, Dick Whittington (Tracey Beckwith) decides to travel to London and seek his fortune. En route he meets an extraordinary cat, Charlemagne (Amy Harrison) who tells Dick of a plan that will someday make him Lord Mayor of London. As Dick travels towards the capital, he sees some shady characters (Lloyd Snook, Steven Hobday) robbing a beautiful woman of her pearls. Dick learns that this is Alice (Kirsty Bailey) daughter of frustrated widow, Mrs Fitzwarren (Jenny O’Donoghue).
Dick and Alice fall in love, but King Rat (Neil Costello) and Squire Crow (Peter Niblett) have different plans. The middle-aged Squire wants Alice for himself and will carry out any number of dirty tricks to get her. He hires Rags (Bronwyn Cox) and Bags (Sam Loffman) a hilarious pair of scruffy down and outs to do his dirty work.
Will Alice get the Dick she has always wanted? Or will the Squire marry her?
Director Bryce Manning was taught by Tony Nicholls, so knows how to keep a pantomime pace going. As always with Tony, the script is on two levels, one for the kids and the double-entendres for the adults. Bryce, big-heartedly, has given the chance for less capable actors to join the chorus in their debuts; they worked very hard, conquered their script and added to the sparkle of the show. The adult leads were strong, great movement and presented all of the pantomime actions, ‘Oh no they didn’t’, ‘Oh yes they did!’
A few minor comments, if I may, on an otherwise fun show. A little bit too much fog machine. The music a little too loud for the singers’ solos, otherwise Phil Wolters’ music and sound effects fitted the situation beautifully and were precisely timed. The baddies weren’t quite nasty enough, I know there is a fine dividing line between having the kids wet the seats and being just right – perhaps a little more encouragement to the children to boo and hiss.
The set was attractively painted (Joanna Brown and Geoff Green-Armytage) and considering that this venue was set up on the day, the lighting was well up to standard (Charles Yates).
The children loved the show, no shuffling feet and applause at every scene change. A well presented community pantomime, with a few excellent leading actors. Good value and great fun.
‘The Adventures of Dick Whittington and his Cat’, a pantomime written by Tony Nicholls, is being presented by the Wembley Theatre Company, at the Wembley Community Centre on the 16th, 17th and 18th October at 7.30 pm.
I saw this community production at The Don Russell Performing Arts Centre in Thornlie, where it presented a single performance.
After being thrown out of home, Dick Whittington (Tracey Beckwith) decides to travel to London and seek his fortune. En route he meets an extraordinary cat, Charlemagne (Amy Harrison) who tells Dick of a plan that will someday make him Lord Mayor of London. As Dick travels towards the capital, he sees some shady characters (Lloyd Snook, Steven Hobday) robbing a beautiful woman of her pearls. Dick learns that this is Alice (Kirsty Bailey) daughter of frustrated widow, Mrs Fitzwarren (Jenny O’Donoghue).
Dick and Alice fall in love, but King Rat (Neil Costello) and Squire Crow (Peter Niblett) have different plans. The middle-aged Squire wants Alice for himself and will carry out any number of dirty tricks to get her. He hires Rags (Bronwyn Cox) and Bags (Sam Loffman) a hilarious pair of scruffy down and outs to do his dirty work.
Will Alice get the Dick she has always wanted? Or will the Squire marry her?
Director Bryce Manning was taught by Tony Nicholls, so knows how to keep a pantomime pace going. As always with Tony, the script is on two levels, one for the kids and the double-entendres for the adults. Bryce, big-heartedly, has given the chance for less capable actors to join the chorus in their debuts; they worked very hard, conquered their script and added to the sparkle of the show. The adult leads were strong, great movement and presented all of the pantomime actions, ‘Oh no they didn’t’, ‘Oh yes they did!’
A few minor comments, if I may, on an otherwise fun show. A little bit too much fog machine. The music a little too loud for the singers’ solos, otherwise Phil Wolters’ music and sound effects fitted the situation beautifully and were precisely timed. The baddies weren’t quite nasty enough, I know there is a fine dividing line between having the kids wet the seats and being just right – perhaps a little more encouragement to the children to boo and hiss.
The set was attractively painted (Joanna Brown and Geoff Green-Armytage) and considering that this venue was set up on the day, the lighting was well up to standard (Charles Yates).
The children loved the show, no shuffling feet and applause at every scene change. A well presented community pantomime, with a few excellent leading actors. Good value and great fun.