Dick Whittington at Derby Arena Review
Written by Bella for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
There was a buzz of anticipation in the air as crowds gathered at Derby Arena on a rainy Saturday night for the opening night of Dick Whittington. The promotional material promised ‘side-splitting slapstick’, ‘stunning sets’ and lavish ‘meow-sical’ numbers for the whole family, so I took along my 91-year-old grandmother as my plus-one. She has fond memories of watching the biggest stars of the day perform in pantomimes at the Winter Gardens and Grand Theatre in Blackpool in the 1940s and 1950s, so this one had a lot to live up to.
Little Wolf Entertainment has been staging pantos in Derby for more than a decade, so I was excited to see what this year’s production had in store. Derby’s panto takes place in the city’s velodrome - an unusual setting, but one that the technical team always transforms into something spectacular. And this year was no exception.
The star of this year’s show is Wendi Peters, best known as Cilla Battersby-Brown in Coronation Street, who took the role of the villainous Queen Rat. Returning as the Dame is award-winning Morgan Brind, who also wrote this year’s script. His performance as Dame Mabel Arch was full of energy, razor-sharp one-liners, and a series of outrageously inventive costumes. He made numerous lightning-fast changes, each time returning in a costume bigger and bolder than the last, including a tap, a lighthouse, and a beach, to name a few.
Panto regulars may have spotted Kristian Cunningham, who returns to Derby in the role of Dick Whittington and Roddy Peters, who plays the Alderman. Nicola Martinus-Smith shone once again as Fairy Bow Bells, keeping the story moving with rhyming slang and plenty of sparkle. Ruby Hewitt made a charming Alice Fitzwarren, while Kai Harris as Tommy the Cat quickly became an audience favourite thanks to fantastic dancing, comic timing and boundless energy.
The talented ensemble kept the energy on stage high throughout the performance and were joined by a brilliant team of young performers.
Morgan Brind’s script weaves his trademark magic through the age-old story of Dick and his cat as they travel to London looking for the streets paved with gold. In a fresh take on the original, the tale centres on Hotel Stilton, run by Alderman Fitzwarren and his daughter Alice and moves on to a cruise liner, then a desert island.
From the moment the show began, we were met with a barrage of one-liners that had the audience laughing out loud. After being framed by Queen Rat, Dick and Tommy find themselves thrown out and head back to Derby, until a mysterious message convinces Dick to turn back and prove his innocence.
To do so, he disguises himself as ‘Sailor Swift’ to sneak onto the Alderman’s new cruise liner, but nothing goes quite to plan. Two standout scenes with Morgan and Kristian - the wordplay-packed ‘flags of the world’ sketch and the chaotic boiler-room sequence, had both the performers and audience in stitches.
Director Mark Chatterton kept the pace racing along in a show bursting with jokes, songs, and well-choreographed dance numbers.
Choreography by Matthew Wesley was varied and high tempo, with highlights including Wendi Peters’ rendition of ‘Abracadabra’ and a fantastic tap sequence to ‘Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat’ from Guys and Dolls, including other brilliantly chosen numbers including spoofs of ‘I Can Hear the Bells’ from Hairspray, ‘500 Miles’ by the Proclaimers and ‘Mystical Magical’ by Benson Boon.
A highlight was the audience participation scene, where the ensemble raced around the floor chasing giant rats and spraying the crowd with water cannons. One audience member, Jarrod from South Africa, received special attention, with Mabel attempting to shoot an apple off his head. As always, the traditional singalong with children on stage brought plenty of laughter.
Musical Director Ong Cheng Kan on piano led a superb trio featuring Corrina Etherington on reeds and John Clark on percussion.
Costumes were spectacular, especially the Dame’s. David Cooper and his team delivered excellent sound, despite a brief mic hiccup that the cast turned into comedy gold. Lighting Designer Alexandra Stafford created a fabulous atmosphere that enhanced the action.
At more than two and a half hours (including a 20-minute interval), the show runs a little long, but it never loses its momentum. Packed with jokes, local references, colourful characters and dazzling costumes, Dick Whittington is set to be another huge success for Derby Live and Little Wolf Entertainment.
I’d recommend it to anyone looking for festive family fun this season.
The show runs at Derby Arena until Wednesday, 31 December. Tickets are available at: https://www.derbylive.co.uk/whats-on/dick-whittington/
★ ★ ★ ★
