Dick Whittington and his Cat
It’s hard not to love the Hackney Empire Pantomime. Director and Panto Dame, Clive Rowe is truly a master of the craft. He seems to love the artform as much as the Hackney crowd seems to love him.
It’s a few years since we’ve watched the panto at the Empire and it was wonderful to see that gone were the over-political attacks in favour of a far more inclusive approach. Hackney has developed the art of the traditional pantomime so well, that the traditional cloth sets, and 2D flats look absolutely in the right place. We get all the pantomimic devices; the dame coming out into the audience to find her man and throwing sweets out to the crowd, the sing-a-long song sheet, the random ghost scene and of course the slap-stick custard pie scene. None of these features seem tired or forced into the script. Indeed, the song 'If I Were Not Upon This Ship' was so neatly woven into the script you would have imagined it only ever appeared in this production of Dick Whittington. Even in today’s TikTok world the Ultra Violet under the sea scene still had magic about it.
Clive, as Sarah the Cook certainly commands every scene, with well-thought-out costumes reflecting the story (the cash-register in the shop scene was particularly clever). He is well supported by a skilled cast. Kandaka Moore, takes on the role as a confident and very tuneful Dick Whittington, bringing a sense of panto wonder to the role. Aryana Ramkhalawon is a feisty Alice Fitzwarren and Kat B as Tommy the Cat had the audience purring with delight at his street-wise moggy portrail. Conversely, Beth Sindy struggles a little to create the warmth of character as Fairy Bowbells needing to slow down her rather shrill delivery.
At the heart of this masterclass in the pantomimic form is the script of Will Brenton. For a modern panto this show is, in a good way, quite script heavy. Will allows Sarah to milk every culinary joke to a point of egg-haustion, and for a panto the plot seems to make sense. This requires an excellent sound balance which sadly let down an otherwise great production. Too many missed cues and unbalanced musical numbers led the audience to miss what should have been a perfect show. I’m sure this will improve throughout the run or Sarah will be down there to batter them.
An almost purrrrfect show – let down a little by the sound desk.
This show was reviewed on the 5th December 2024 at Hackney Empire, London where it runs until the 5th January 2025. Tickets available here: Dick Whittington and his Cat | Hackney Empire
Review written by Paul Wood & Ian Worsfold
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Photo credit: Mark Senior
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