Pantoland is always a magical place and there are lots of magical delights in The Company of Four’s offering this February half-term, Dick Whittington.
It’s full of sparkles, colour, great costumes and plenty of laughs as the group once again takes over the Riverside Theatre in Woodbridge for the week.
A firm favourite with the audience, Paul Leech returns as the Dame, Polly Filler, poking gentle fun at the absurdity of panto and flirting with all the chaps in the crowd.
Chloe Atkinson makes a wonderful baddie King Rat, with her troupe of henchmen ratlings, Connor Farrell, Benji Hughes, Troy Morden and Kit Widdup, suited and booted like a cross between the Blues Brothers and Madness.
Our hero, Dick Whittington, is played traditionally as a principal boy by Maddi Mitchell, who has a cheeky manner and great chemistry with, my favourite Natalie Barker as the nonchalant cat Lord Fergus ‘Fluffy’ Feline, and Ysabel Bloomfield as Alice, who is pretty in pink and has a lovely singing voice.
Another fine singer is Becca Kirby as Queen Cat, our feline fairy godmother character in a fabulous sparkly pink dress ( let me know where that’s from please I adore it)
Comedy comes from the duo Idle Jack and Gloria and I have to say I cheered at the refreshingly modern ending to their story. Paul Moss takes us from the circus to the high seas as a pirate and into the west end as a theatre empresario.
A chorus that ranges from the cutest of little ones to confident adult performer dance their socks off and go through multiple costume changes to provide glitz and glamour and look out for the underwater scene which is cleverly choreographed.
This was the company’s first performance and towards the end of the second half, confidence in the lines left a few characters but the beauty of panto is you can chat with the audience and get a laugh even from a sticky moment.
This is a perfect half-term treat for the family to keep out the cold grey February days and immerse yourself in a magical world of colour and laughter.
Dick Whittington runs until Saturday 22nd February – to find out more details on dates, times and ticket prices and to book tickets visit the Riverside Theatre Website
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