It's time for my review of Dick Whittington!This is the second year in a row that I have been fortunate enough to see the pantomime at the London Palladium; a pantomime which I would call the biggest panto in all of London! I have seen other pantomimes in London, but there is truly nothing that compares to the panto's put on at the London Palladium.
This production of Dick Whittington pulls out all the stops to be the perfect panto, but there is one key element which it just wouldn't be the same without... Julian Clary, who is performing in the role of 'Spirit of the Bells'. This is only the second time I have seen Julian Clary perform (the other being last year's pantomime at the London Palladium), and yet I am confident in saying that he must be the best comedian I have ever seen. Every single word he uttered had me in stitches. His delivery was perfect and I honestly cannot imagine enjoying another pantomime so much that does not star Julian Clary. West End and Broadway legend Elaine Paige has been cast in the role of Queen Rat, and she had an absolutely beautiful voice, delivering some wonderful numbers. However, the only issue I had with her performance is that it was difficult to despise her, and therefore perhaps she wasn't quite right to be a 'villain'. I personally would have preferred Elaine Paige to have been cast as one of the protagonists. For the majority of the run, Ashley Banjo had been performing as The Sultan, however he was absent for the performance I had attended, so Diversity member Warren Russell made his debut in the role. Despite it only being his first performance as The Sultan, Warren Russell performed very well and did a fantastic job! As for Diversity, who were 'The Sultan's Special Advisors', they performed some amazing dance routines and it is a shame that we didn't get to see more of them. All of their routines were excellently choreographed! Paul Zerdin as Idle Jack alongside his dummy Sam, who has returned from last year's pantomime, was brilliant and even funnier than he was last year! My only critique for his performance was that he recycled a few of last year's lines, and it would have been better if he had written some more new material for this year. Nigel Havers in the role of Captain Nigel, who has also returned from last year, was extremely amusing to watch, and similar to Zerdin, I also found him funnier than last year! Gary Wilmot, who portrays Sarah Fitzwarren, gives a generally good performance, but there is a certain stunning moment in the show where Wilmot truly comes into his element. In act two, Wilmot performs an exceptional musical number where he lists every single train station in London (and there's hundreds of them!). This was a big highlight of the whole show and absolutely brought the house down! Charlie Stemp, in the title role of Dick Whittington, gave an all round outstanding performance, showcasing that he is an excellent dancer, singer and actor. He was the perfect choice for Dick Whittington and was a pleasure to watch onstage! By his side was Emma Williams in the role of Alice Fitzwarren, who brings an enormous amount of energy to the stage! She too is a great actress, singer and dancer.
Creatively, Dick Whittington is stunning. All of the costumes in the show, particularly Julian Clary's are truly magnificent! They really have put their all into designing these amazing costumes. The special effects in the show were also wonderful, with the stand-out effect being the London bus which flies above the audience at the end of act one. The bus was like nothing I had ever seen before!
The featured star of Dick Whittington is, drum roll please... JULIAN CLARY!
As you can tell by the amount I said about the cast, the actors and actresses in Dick Whittington are extraordinary talented! However, it is Julian Clary that steals the show. I never wanted Julian Clary to leave the stage; every moment he was there was utterly hilarious! I really hope that the producers of next year's London Palladium pantomime choose to bring him back, as it just would not be the same without him.
Now for my final verdict on Dick Whittington. I give Dick Whittington...
Dick Whittington is one of the best pantomimes I had ever seen; it was glorious! I cannot wait for next year's pantomime at the London Palladium and I'm sure it will be just as amazing as the past two have been!
Think it should have got a higher rating? Agree with my rating? Think it should have got a lower rating? If so comment below.
Thanks for reading!
-The Reviewer
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