Greenwich Theatre – until 5 January 2025
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
4****
Anthony Spargo’s swinging sixties-set Dick Whittington is a riot of fun and silliness.
When Dick (Samuel Bailey) and Tommie the talking cat (Inés Ruiz) come to London to seek their fortune, they are puzzled by the lack of cats, but the voice of Bow Bells predicts a great future for Dick. In Pudding Lane, Dick falls for Alice Fitzwarren (Jasmine Jules Andrews), but Dick’s happiness is in jeopardy as the daft but dastardly Ratticus (Anthony Spargo) and sidekick Muffy (Louise Cielecki) frame Dick for theft. Bow Bells grants Dick’s wish to change the past and provides a time machine, and the panto gets all wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey as Ratticus hijacks it and changes history to ensure that he will be all powerful. It’s all wonderfully unhinged, and writer Spargo crams in heaps of pop culture references to delight all the adults in the audience. The jokes are brilliantly judged – double entendres for the grownups and silly visual gags and puns for the children.
Emily Bestow’s bright and cartoonish set and costumes are a delight – with Ratticus’s and Meggs the Baker’s outfits being the highlights. Director James Haddrell knows the Greenwich audience, and keeps things running smoothly, with MD “Uncle” Steve Markwick on stage with guitarist Gordon Parrish while drummer Chris Wyles is out of sight in Ratticus’s lair. The sixties setting is genius, each song is a classic and gets the audience clapping and singing along.
Samuel Bailey and Jordan Jules Andrews gamely keep straight faces as the sweet lovebirds while the Greenwich tradition of Trinity Laban students making their professional debut in the ensemble continues with Nabi Brown, Archie Fearon and Annabelle Lane nailing Nancy Kettle’s slick choreography. Phil Yarrow as Meggs the Baker is a hoot, decked out in dough-based products and simpering over Alderman Fitzwarren (Paul Kemble) while delivering the obligatory Dick jokes. Inés Ruiz is lots of fun as Tommie, playing some fine sax. Louise Cielecki returns as a sidekick for Spargo, and their physical and verbal comedy is incredible. Spargo is an incredible baddie, channelling too many comedy legends and rock stars to mention and giving the audience everything you’d expect from a panto villain, dialled up to eleven.
Dick Whittington and his Cat is another Christmas cracker from Greenwich Theatre – fabulous family entertainment.