Phoenix Theatre, London – until 9 January 2022 (6 performances)
Reviewed by Celia Armand Smith
5*****
Panto season is upon us and The TuckShop’s Dick Whittington is a campy, nonsensical, heart filled production that has something for everyone (over the age of 14). The stellar drag cast and superb writing by Gareth Joyner had the whole audience in stitches from beginning to end.
The story of Dick Whittington is not a new one, however, this was not the traditional telling of the story that we know so well. The hero, Dick (played by Cheryl Hole), sets out on a quest to find adventure, fame, fortune on the streets of the city of Soho with his faithful yet miserable sidekick cat friend, Cat Slater (Elektra Fence). With the help of the Spirit of Soho (Kitty Scott-Claus) they must defeat Queen Rat (Choriza May), and win the heart of Alice (Karen from Finance), and Alice’s mum Dame Sarah (Yshee Black) after her prized spatula is stolen from the safe (played by Villager number 4, Ophelia Love). There are some hiccups along the way including a banishment to the North, but with the Mayor of Soho (Beau Jangles) and Daddy (Richard Energy) who owns the local “marital aids” shop, they save Soho and the day.
The stage is normally home to Come From Away, so the set was a simple street scene with some Mary Poppins style chimneys and a pink postbox. Without any changes at all, it was a cafe, a ship, and a completely different city.
The musical numbers were fantastic, and in particular, Beau Jangles had a stand out voice. Everyone had their moment to shine, and the joy was non-stop. The interval is a welcome break for my cheeks which hurt from laughing. We really felt like we were in on the joke. For me, Ophelia Love, Richard Energy, and Beau Jangles stood out. Their use of props, vocals, and comedy timing were excellent despite some technical difficulties with sound. Special mention should go to Owen Cennydd Hodges and Alex Conder who were very campy backing dancers. Every raised eyebrow, little balletic leap, and hip wiggle had us giggling uncontrollably.
As half the cast have been on RuPaul’s Drag Race at some point, there is quite a lot of drag race content so if you don’t watch Drag Race, some of the jokes will go over your head. There was plenty of laughter to go round however, and lots of jokes were made at the expense of Drag Race which famously does not include Drag Kings or alternative drag forms.
At a time when the news is so miserable every day, having a few hours of complete silliness, unrelenting hilarity, and queer joy is a well needed tonic. Get on over to the Phoenix Theatre for one of the five remaining performances.