Pantomime
Dick Whittington
Eden Court Theatre, Inverness
Mary Brennan
four stars
A REAL regard for the value of panto traditions runs through this show like lettering in a stick of rock – and those traditions spell fun for youngsters and grown-ups alike. The Pantosphere has, in some sectors, lost sight of rounded story-telling: not here – Dick’s rollercoaster journey from rags to riches is clearly detailed, delivered with the added zest of a proper Principal Boy. A slap of the thigh signals that Charlotte Forbes is a nicely gung-ho Whittington we all want to see winning out over King Rat. Luckily Tommy the Cat is at paw, ready to trounce the busily scampering (locally recruited) little vermin with a flurry of cartwheels and back-flips – some mogs would give several of their nine lives to be as acrobatically agile as Sophie Donald’s Tommy, and to have her expressive vocabulary of me-e-i-o-ws.
In charge of the sauce’n’salt patter is Sarah the Cook (Steven Wren), abetted by the Idle Boabby of Ross Allan. They are the real panto comedy business, this pair. Wren does you an archly garrulous Dame, before going glam in peerie heels and mini-dress as Tina Turner in a stonking version of Proud Mary. Allan belies Boabby’s silly-snoozy sumph persona by kicking up hot-groovin’ heels in Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop the Feeling. On top of that, they squirt up a total goo-fest in their old-style slapstick scene. As for those rats, would you believe it? They want in on the comedy as well. King Rat (Colin Little) and his side-kick Stinky (Euan Bennet) act gnarly, but they’re prone to daft wordplay and laughable antics that – along with colourful ensemble numbers – make for all-round family entertainment. A welcome reminder that what actually makes pantomime special is the flesh-and-blood talent that keeps refreshing traditions.
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