Dick Whittington - A glorious pantomime – oh yes it is!

Jan 2 2009

PANTOMIME is, by its very nature, a safe, predictable and traditional way of drawing in the crowds over the festive season.

But just occasionally, a panto will rise above those limits and make the successful transition to full blown stage musical.

Such a triumph has been achieved at Llandudno this Christmas where Dick Whittington deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as classic shows such as Mary Poppins.

Make no mistake, all the elements everyone loves about panto are all present and correct (including the conveniently placed haunted bench and the seemingly obligatory "111" joke during the birthday announcements) but there is so much more to this glorious production.

Undoubtedly its greatest strength is its uniformly excellent cast, every one of whom makes the most of their opportunity to shine in the spotlight.

Nabbing the star of one of British TV’s most popular current comedy shows as the headliner is a real coup for the venue and John Challis is the epitome of the villain you love to hate as King Rat, tapping into the sinister side of Boycie which was occasionally glimpsed in Only Fools and Horses but has been largely forgotten now the character has sampled The Green Green Grass.

Next up is Kai Owen, a regular at Mold’s Clwyd Theatr Cymru before Torchwood turned him into a cult figure (the Newcastle branch of the Torchwood fan club was occupying part of the front row on this particular night) but revelling in the chance to take centre stage with his charismatic presence.

Scene stealer extraordinaire John Evans makes a welcome return after his success in Peter Pan at Llandudno last year. Why this man isn’t one of TV’s biggest comedy stars is a mystery – his natural Scouse wit is as sharp as a knife and while he delivers scripted lines superbly, the gems are those he quite obviously comes up with off the top of his head.

Lora Munro is a bubbly Alice Fitzwarren while Llandudno girl Kate Galston is such a sexy fairy godmother she is more likely to be the subject of wishes rather than the person who grants them.

But having got such a dream cast together, the production never fails to give them the material they need to turn the show into such a winner, making it genuinely funny and peppering it with musical numbers which reveal Owen, Munro and Galston to be outstanding singers.

Put it all together and you have what I consider to be possibly the best pantomime I have ever seen.