Dick Whittington and His Cat, Greenwich Theatre Review
Anthony Spargo as Ratticous. Photo: Danny with a Camera
Written by Penny for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Content Warning: Flashing lights, some sudden loud noises and pyrotechnics.
Last month, Greenwich had a temporary rebrand as “Greenwitch” to celebrate the release of the Wicked movie – the story of what happened in the Land of Oz before Dorothy dropped in. Now Greenwich Theatre has swapped the yellow brick road for streets paved with gold to bring us the story of Dick Whittington, searching for fame and fortune in good old London town!
Popular Greenwich panto veteran Anthony Spargo has returned for his eleventh year to write and star in this year’s show. Musical direction is once again in the capable hands of “Uncle” Steve Marwick who leads a small band of Greenwich panto regulars, Gordon Parrish on guitar and Chris Wyles on drums. Although the show’s main action is set in the 60s, the excellent music choices include pop and rock hits from the 60s to the present, with a little bit of musical theatre thrown in.
The tale of Dick Whittington is unusual in Pantoland as it’s based on a real person who actually became Lord Mayor of London and did marry Alice Fitzwarren. But there’s no mention of a cat so the panto version is instantly a better story! And Spargo’s script gives us a great version of this story. It’s full of classic panto set pieces and silly jokes as well as plenty of innuendo to keep the adults laughing along with their children. There is some very impressive word play based around Mr Watt/What and Miss Hoo/Who that has clearly been very well rehearsed under the excellent direction of the theatre’s Artistic Director James Haddrell as it flows brilliantly. There’s even time travel! The fact that it doesn’t entirely make sense is turned into a joke about plot holes that allows the audience to just go with it and enjoy the chaos. A sequence set in 1666 was a clever twist but the dialogue could do with a bit of tightening as it didn’t quite land.
The Greenwich panto always punches above its weight. The set and costumes, designed by Emily Bestow, are impressive and sound (Liam McDermott) and lighting (Henry Slater) are very effective – with slick cues that enhance our experience. At times, the band does slightly overpower the singers but this should be easy to fix with a tweak to the sound balance. The projection of the face of the Bow Bells onto a clock at the side of the stage offers guidance for Dick and an entertaining Kenneth Williams impression for the audience.
A big reason for the success and popularity of the theatre’s festive offering is the brilliant Anthony Spargo. As well as providing such a strong script, his performance as King Rat/Ratticous is a masterclass in how to play a panto villain. He has just the right level of evil to get the audience booing but also brings some real charm and an infectious giggle to the role and his interactions with the audience are hugely entertaining. When we visit his seedy “Pleasure Palace” in the second act we are treated to Ratticous performing as Liam Gallagher, it is uncannily accurate and the audience is “mad fer it”.
Ratticous’ sidekick is Muffy the Mouse, fooling nobody that she’s an evil rat. Louise Cielecki returns to the Greenwich panto for her third year, once again giving a high energy comedy performance with some of the best vocals on the stage.
The rest of the cast are clearly having a blast. Samuel Bailey has great energy as Dick and actor/musician Inés Ruiz is fabulously feline as Tommie the cat, adding some saxophone solos that really get the party started. This year’s Dame is Meggs the Baker (Phil Yarrow), having great fun with a series of baking mishaps and a romantic subplot with Alderman Fitzwarren (Paul Kemble) who along with his daughter Alice (Jasmine Jules Andrews) offer a little bit of sanity amidst all the mayhem.
Each year the Greenwich panto includes a small ensemble cast made up of students from the local Trinity Laban College. This year’s second years (Archie Fearon, Annabelle Lane and Nabi Brown) provide excellent back up to the principal cast, singing, dancing and taking on the roles of King Rat’s gang. It’s great to see the theatre involving local students who will hopefully be its panto stars of the future.
Towards the end of the show, we had the traditional shout outs for birthdays and celebrations in the audience followed by a singalong with Tommie and Muffy. This was very possibly the most raucous audience interaction I’ve ever been a part of but it didn’t phase the actors at all and just added to the fun!
Greenwich Theatre has another festive hit on its hands. It’s got everything you could want from a panto and something for all ages – I defy anybody to leave without a massive smile on their face!
Dick Whittington and his Cat runs until 5th January 2025, with a relaxed performance on Thursday 2nd January. Find out more and book here.
★★★★
