It’s That Time of Year Again in Windsor – Oh Yes It Is.
Love it or hate it, avoiding panto at Christmas is pretty impossible if you have kids. So, rather than gritting your teeth and bearing it, researching a decent show will be well worth your while, and this year our research led us to the Royal Windsor Theatre and an all-singing all-dancing production of Dick Whittington.
Now, cards on the table – choosing Windsor as a preferred Panto provider was this year based on experience. Last year’s Genie-ous show sowed the seeds for a return visit. But as with any other theatre visit – the proof has to be in the (Christmas?) pudding, so here we went again. Oh yes we did…
The cast may not be as all-star as some shows, but what it lacks in names it makes up for in genuine talent and big, big laughs. Britain’s favourite fox Basil Brush makes a welcome return, boom-booming every night, alongside local calamitous duo Kevin Cruise and dame Steven Blakeley, now stalwarts of the Windsor panto scene. Joining them are Hilary O’Neil as Fairy Bowbells, and legendary singer of The New Seekers and acclaimed star of Blood Brothers, Lyn Paul as Queen Rat.
Accompanied by a nine-year-old, it was as if this show was written purely for her, as we’re sure the other several hundred young guests felt, as they giggled away to contemporary jokes and japes, while parents were provided with regular sniggers that went totally over the lower positioned heads of the children.
Mikko Juan’s take on the eponymous lead character is heartwarming, and his use of British sign language while communicating with co-star Rina Punwani’s Tallulah the Cat gives a magical and thoughtful touch to the show. Whittington’s love interest Alice Fitzwarren is perfectly played by Mia Welsh whose softly spoken character comes into her own with a display of strength and power as she vows to rescue herself, not needing any man, with a rendition of Miley Cyrus’ Flowers. (Spoiler, turns out she does actually need a man and the final number brings the whole cast together for a rapturous and raucous wedding showdown for the curtain call.)
The finesse of a finely tuned stage show is what sets panto at Windsor’s Kenwright theatre apart. Supporting actors are all top of their game, and the musical numbers are delivered with the same quality you’d expect of a West End show. While kids in the crowd were kept happy with take-offs of everything from Sabrina Carpenter to Taylor Swift, for anyone over the age of 40 surely the defining moment of this energetic show was a 90s homage mashup of pop and dance classics, from PJ and Duncan to The Prodigy. When you have a whole audience with ages ranging from one to one hundred, and they’re all on their feet, hands in the air, singing ‘No No Limits’, you know you’ve succeeded in spanning the decades and delivering a show fit for the whole family.
While some of the ‘Dick’ jokes felt a little obvious and unnecessary even for panto, and provoked awkward glances between some of the parents and kids, the overwhelming majority of lines and laugh were good clean fun, cheekily delivered by Cruise and Blakeley’s dynamic duo of Dame and son.
- For more information and to book tickets, click here.
- Tickets to Dick Whittington at Royal Windsor Theatre were complimentary on the basis of an honest review.
