Review: DICK WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT, Cambridge Arts Theatre
Photo credit: Richard Hubert Smith
Dick Whittington rolls into London Town this week, delighting audiences at Cambridge Arts Theatre with this witty and charming pantomime.
In the traditional story, we follow Dick as he goes off to seek his fortune in London Town, meeting Tommy the Cat on route. Arriving in London, he meets Alice Fitzwarren, Alderman Fitzwarren, Sarah the Cook and Silly Billie, all whilst trying to stay out of the grasps of the dastardly King Rat.
The show is upbeat, featuring some popular and well known songs such as ‘In the Navy’, bringing you everything that you could possibly want from a pantomime. The jokes are aimed at all ages with some for you to laugh at and of course those to groan at! The children were in hysterics from start to finish and that is how you know you’ve hit the right balance.
It is big audience participation and picks a very apt community song in ‘Sweet Caroline’, getting four children up on stage to help which leads to inevitable humourous moments.
Rolan Bell returns to Cambridge as the dastardly baddie King Rat - you can see why he won ‘Pantomime Villain of the Year 2021’, and it should be easy for him to defend his title with this performance again. His baddie song ‘Get This Party Started’, originally by Pink, is a great choice as it fits his vocal range well.
Luke Baker is great as Dick Whittington and has good chemistry with Tommy the Cat, played by understudy Celeste Williamson last night due to sickness. Williamson stepped in and performed admirably, dealing well with some microphone issues.
Sarah the Cook (played by Matt Crosby) and Alderman Fitzwarren (Adrian Grove) have wonderful chemistry and rightfully garnered a lot of laughs.
Stealing the show, however, is another understudy Tamsin January, who stepped in to play Silly Billie. Her comic timing is wonderful, and her facial expressions and singing voice made her very enjoyable to watch.
This is a five star pantomime that doesn’t put a foot wrong.
***** Five stars
Reviewed by: Emma Rooney
Dick Whittington and his Cat plays at Cambridge Arts Theatre until 8 January 2023, with tickets available here.