Pantomime

Dick McWhittington

His Majesty’s, Aberdeen

Mary Brennan

four stars

ALL across the Pantosphere, the “cloots” are being brung doon and audiences are up on their feet for the singalong competition. It’s doubtful, however, if any other audience will be screeching in noisy celebration of their city’s scurries (urban seagulls, ken). But in Aberdeen, this cheerfully raucous ditty is just one instance of the canny local colour that Alan McHugh writes into the action.

He probably put words into Alex Salmond’s mouth as well – the opening news-flash film where the weel kent MP for Gordon utters dire warnings about rats invading Aberdeen is a genius notion. King Rat (a swaggering-cackling John Jack) is a . . . Cockney. Um – isn’t Dick (Ashley Emerson) also English? As Ba’heid Boaby would say, that’s okey-dokey-karaoke because Dick came north to work on the rigs, fell in love with Aberdeen, and with Boaby’s sweet sister Eilish, and is going to be the hero who sorts out the rats and becomes Lord Provost of the city.

Sez who? Says Fairy Fitlike. And since she also knows how to morph into Adele, come over all Yankee-Doodle Donald Chump and wheech the Dame (Alan McHugh) and Boaby (Jordan Young) high over the stalls in a flying racing car, we can assume she’s spot-on with the predictions. Even without the technicolour glitz of Fitlike’s fancy frock, Elaine C Smith is in sparkling form, a pure dead brilliant Doric quine to the astutely daft looning aboot duo of McHugh and Jordan. The sketch where she yo-yo’s between them, relaying the tricky, slippery word-play on a shortage of short-sleeved shirts, really sums up what a dream team they are now. As for those rats – rest easy, Aberdeen. With Dick on hand, you’re safe and free to enjoy a rollicking fine panto.