Meow-velous Entertainment for All Ages!

A family fun panto is opening at New Mills Arts Centre this week bringing to life the classic fairytale of ‘Dick Whittington’.

For me, Pantomime is best when kept traditional – why fix what isn’t broke? That being said, I was very impressed with the with the way that this show kept the traditional panto feel with modernised takes on music, lines and jokes. The blend is fantastic, from an opening number of ‘We Built This City’ and inclusions of upbeat tracks such as ‘Don’t Stop Movin’’ all played by a live 2-piece band – who I will give praise to shortly. The lib is clearly altered to fit New Mills as a whole – multiple references to High Peak Borough Council and hot topics such as the dreaded sinkholes/potholes gave me a good chuckle on occasions. All the credit for this must go to the production team, Claire Sweeney on Musical Director duty bringing the music to life, Tegan Williams for choreography, and of course the director, Cathryn Yates, who has structured a great family fun panto! Never in my life did I think I would sit in a panto audience and have a Status Quo songsheet put up, very well done to the team for that.

On to the cast now. Every Pantomime needs a great ensemble as a foundation – upbeat singing and dancing with big smiling faces will always get the audience on their side from minute 1. I have done pantomime myself for 19 years and done Dick Whittington a few times in that time and this ensemble of young dancers is by far – THE BEST ensemble I have seen. Everyone on the stage has so much pride in what they are doing and it shines through, more importantly, you can tell everyone in those dances is enjoying themselves and that is what it is all about. Well done to all groups of dancers.

Photo Credit: Mike Petch

Time for the principles – now this is a big cast, 12 principles to be exact. Individually talking about each person would turn this review into a short Novel so I will have to cherry-pick but I will start as a whole.

This group is a great team – all working for each other and making sure the energy is on stage. There were a great set of accents on display – hat tips going to William Kerr (King Rat) and Sam Bolton (Sultan Pepper/Ensemble/Sailor) Fantastic accents lads, well done. Very good performances from the Alderman, Fairy Bow-Bells and Captain Watt too really glue the show in place.

Very sound performances come from Kai Harman (Dick Whittington), Charlotte Parry (Alice) with a nice chemistry between our heroes of the day.

Great comedic gags from Harry Lee and Ross Provart (Sarah Snafflebratt and Idle Jack). The custard pie gag was a personal highlight and I enjoyed the energy of the pair very much.

There were two standouts in this show. First I’m going to shine the light on Ginny Kerr, one of King Rat’s Knock abouts, who has a fantastic comedic aura on stage, combined with a great accent and singing voice. She wasn’t alone – Lisa Quinn alongside her was a fantastic second in this double act – Ginny just took every scene she entered into a new level and she should be over the moon with the performance she has created.

Photo Credit: Mike Petch

And then, for me, is the shining light in this piece. Eileen the cat. A great name forcing gags of ‘Come on Eileen’ all show was great. This part is played by young Ava Hibbert. Ava is a star – for such a young performer, her stagecraft and awareness is remarkable. Her expressions, Her movement, Her rendition of footloose and all-round presence is something to behold. From one performer to another – never lose that and always enjoy it, bottle that energy and you will go far. Hibberts involvement is a joy to watch and worth the price of 5 tickets alone. Take a bow.

Photo Credit: Mike Petch

This show is great fun for all the family and is not one to miss. New Mills have got great entertainment ready for audiences and the show runs this weekend (Friday 31^st-Sunday 2^nd) and the following weekend (Friday 7^th – Saturday 8^th). Support of local theatre is vastly important to the continuation of the arts and New Mills have the craft in toe and a ship ready for sail. Make sure you get your tickets and bask in the great fun that is Dick Whittington.

Get tickets below:

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/high-peak/new-mills-art-theatre/dick-whittington-pantomime/e-kolqxl