Panto fun for all the family (From Wiltshire Times)

Dick Whittington Theatre Royal, Bath Until January 22

9:29am Thursday 22nd December 2011 in Theatre & Arts

A DECADE of directing panto at the Theatre Royal alone has enabled Chris Harris to pull off another rollicking knees-up for the festive season.

Milkshake girl Naomi Wilkinson, also the face of BBC2’s Live ’n’ Deadly, is an accomplished lead, her sunny personality lighting up the stage. Carrie Ellis was a suitably saccharine, pretty in pink Fairy Bow Bells to counteract Mark Moraghan’s menacing King Rat. His entrances, accompanied by a crack of lightening, left one nearly six-year-old in our party cowering beneath his coat. He was, of course, met with the customary enthusiastic hisses and boos by the audience.

Expect a rollercoaster two-and-a-half hour journey through the time-honoured tradition, plus plenty of slapstick, silliness and toilet humour, such as Sarah the Cook’s ‘squeaky shoes’ as she climbed the shop ladder to reach the jelly babies, over and over again.

One particularly silly exchange, which raised more than a chuckle, was on the subject of a Spotted Dick, Dick, which got so complicated that in the end nobody knew where they were in the script … or did they?

Weaved around the familiar tale are many show-stopping numbers old and new and silly dances, not forgetting the topical jokes for the adults.

A particular highlight was the computer-animated under-the-sea sequence with Dick ‘swimming’, suspended in mid-air in the background.

Everyone loves a good wedding, and that’s where it ends, but let’s hope this director carries on with the excellent work for next year’s panto season.

Alison Grover