DICK WHITTINGTON

WEYMOUTH PAVILION

SLICK, side-splitting and engaging – the Pavilion panto really delivered this year.

Regular lynchpin Gwynfryn West kept everyone laughing as Idle Jack, while Tegen Jones, who played the cat, ‘Alan’, displayed super comic timing to steal the show.

Every character held their own, and in the case of Alan McLaren he managed to convincingly and hilariously fill four roles, with different accents as Lord Mayor, Alderman, Captain and Sultan.

Powerhouse villain Yvonne Patterson returned this year to play Queen Rat, who was at loggerheads with the good Fairy Bowbells, played by Aimi Percival. Both had great voices and a cracking stage presence.

The riotously funny Chay Anton played Sarah the Cook, a dame with impeccable slapstick abilities. The dame is such a pivotal Role in any panto, and Chay did a sterling job pulling all the scenes together and making everyone laugh.

Scot Karla Harvey made it 500 miles doon the road to play our heroine Alice, which made a nice change from the traditional squeaky-voiced English leading lady of many a panto. There was a funny scene as the Dame tried to interpret the Scottish and Welsh lingo of Alice and Jack and got lost in translation (notwithstanding the fact Jack was her son…)

And Weymouth’s own Lewis Asquith created a good fun Dick, with a hysterical scene alongside Jack and Sarah where he tried to work out the name of a classic pudding – I won’t ruin it for you by explaining it.

I took two ten-year-olds, and they loved Alan – Tegen’s over-enthusiastic, rat-slaying moggy who appeared wearing a gigantic Cone of Shame after a visit to Dave Cumber vets after an op on his Christmas baubles.

There were jokes about Brexit, Portland and the Peninsula plans, great showstopper numbers and classic routines with plenty of falling over – how could you fail to enjoy this show?

There are special performances on offer this year – one ‘relaxed’ performance on December 20 and one just for adults on January 2.

Dick Whittington is on until January 5. Tickets from https://weymouthpavilion.com/event/Dick-Whittington/ or 01305 783225.