Dick Whittington and his Cat (Stourbridge Pantomime Company)
Considering the massive array of Pantomimes that are available to view, both professional and amateur it takes something a little special to 'stand out from the crowd' and yet Stourbridge Pantomime Company seem to be able to do that on a regular basis.
Under the direction of Steve Humpherson, creative choreography of Amy Williams and musical stewardship of Adam Joy/Richard Skilbeck this is an utterly engaging and enthralling production and frankly any show that can include 'Seven Seas of Rhye' by Queen, 'Mr Blue Sky' by ELO, 'Stick It to the Man' from 'School of Rock' and a medley of songs from 'The Blue Brothers' is worth the ticket price for the music alone.
To do justice to that soundtrack and entertain a diverse and in some ways challenging audience you need a stellar cast and we open with husband and wife partnership Steve and Sarah Coussens as King Rat and Fairy Bowbells. Steve in character can best be described by Noah Claypole in the classic movie musical 'Oliver' as a 'regular right down bad un' and I will personally start to believe in fairies if they all have a voice as powerful and melodic Sarah's. I do wonder if they practised their exchanges across the breakfast table, a secret that perhaps we will never know.
David Shaw's, Sarah the Cook is about as quintessentially 'Dame' as you can get, treating Ricky Hammond's, likable Idle Jack with comic roughness, leading to some excellent slapstick style exchanges.
Hattie Rudge as Alice Fitzwarren and Jonathan Hunt as Dick Whittington make a charming couple as the obligatory lovers (how else would we get to a wedding scene finale !), both with strong singing voices and joining seamlessly with the exceptional dancers for some of the more ambitious numbers. Sophie Ruddick provides an outstanding performance as Tommy the Cat, it would be easy to underestimate how difficult it is to stay in character as a non-human but, she achieved this almost effortlessly.
All adding in their own way to the storyline are Adam Chester as Alderman Fitzwarren, Julia Tromans as a highly amusing, Captain Cuttle and India Lakhan as The Sultana of Morocco without whom this really wouldn't be a completely traditional pantomime. Special mention must go to Hatty Humpherson (Gnawbone) and Neive Marrison (Gnashfang), diminutive henchman to King Rat, sadly mistaking their target, the beautiful Alice for the differently striking Sarah the Cook, one might say an easy mistake to make !
Let us not forget those not on stage but, equally important to the success of this production, a backstage team run (as ever) with precision by Margaret Taylor, lighting by Matt Bird, sound by Paul Finch and an extensively, colourful wardrobe from Pat Perry.
You've only a relatively small number of performances to experience another absorbing piece of family theatre from this society as the run finishes on Saturday 26th January, so take yourself off into a fantasy world you won't forget.
Book Here
Under the direction of Steve Humpherson, creative choreography of Amy Williams and musical stewardship of Adam Joy/Richard Skilbeck this is an utterly engaging and enthralling production and frankly any show that can include 'Seven Seas of Rhye' by Queen, 'Mr Blue Sky' by ELO, 'Stick It to the Man' from 'School of Rock' and a medley of songs from 'The Blue Brothers' is worth the ticket price for the music alone.
To do justice to that soundtrack and entertain a diverse and in some ways challenging audience you need a stellar cast and we open with husband and wife partnership Steve and Sarah Coussens as King Rat and Fairy Bowbells. Steve in character can best be described by Noah Claypole in the classic movie musical 'Oliver' as a 'regular right down bad un' and I will personally start to believe in fairies if they all have a voice as powerful and melodic Sarah's. I do wonder if they practised their exchanges across the breakfast table, a secret that perhaps we will never know.
David Shaw's, Sarah the Cook is about as quintessentially 'Dame' as you can get, treating Ricky Hammond's, likable Idle Jack with comic roughness, leading to some excellent slapstick style exchanges.
Hattie Rudge as Alice Fitzwarren and Jonathan Hunt as Dick Whittington make a charming couple as the obligatory lovers (how else would we get to a wedding scene finale !), both with strong singing voices and joining seamlessly with the exceptional dancers for some of the more ambitious numbers. Sophie Ruddick provides an outstanding performance as Tommy the Cat, it would be easy to underestimate how difficult it is to stay in character as a non-human but, she achieved this almost effortlessly.
All adding in their own way to the storyline are Adam Chester as Alderman Fitzwarren, Julia Tromans as a highly amusing, Captain Cuttle and India Lakhan as The Sultana of Morocco without whom this really wouldn't be a completely traditional pantomime. Special mention must go to Hatty Humpherson (Gnawbone) and Neive Marrison (Gnashfang), diminutive henchman to King Rat, sadly mistaking their target, the beautiful Alice for the differently striking Sarah the Cook, one might say an easy mistake to make !
Let us not forget those not on stage but, equally important to the success of this production, a backstage team run (as ever) with precision by Margaret Taylor, lighting by Matt Bird, sound by Paul Finch and an extensively, colourful wardrobe from Pat Perry.
You've only a relatively small number of performances to experience another absorbing piece of family theatre from this society as the run finishes on Saturday 26th January, so take yourself off into a fantasy world you won't forget.
Book Here
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