(seen at the 5.30pm performance on 8th December 2024)
How does a much loved and traditional British pantomime deal with the audience memory of the full Disney version?
Writer Alan McHugh (with a little help from Peter Firman) has the answer. Keep some of the key visual sequences – transforming beast on throne, dancing crockery (Jenny Thomas choreography on fine form throughout) – and add some semi-parody music and lyrics. Spliced and spiced with traditional panto magic, and you are on to a winner.
Peter Firman migrates from his usual New Wimbledon Theatre home to do practically the same routine he did there, a few miles down the road. His range of conjuring tricks still at times tend more towards Sooty than Paul Daniels (he does a variation on a classic Daniels, in fact), but as usual his amazing charisma carries the crowd – apart from Jade in the front row. Well, he does warn against sitting there...
Back from the cobbles for a spell (two Corrie jokes, one Ology, that’s your lot), Maureen Lipman relishes being Mrs Potty (with a Y, Disney lawyers stand down). Her quick wit and self-deprecation, “I’ll put you over my knee replacement” endear her instantly.
Equally appealing, Belle’s mother Betty Bouffant (Ben Stock) is another dame extraordinaire. A string of groaning one-liners older than time and ten times funnier; with Firman and Lipman a “Haunted Bedroom” routine with trombone is a showstopper. Later, “Tell Him That” with the trio is even funnier (and considerably ruder – at least one dame’s DBE has to be in jeopardy if she forgets to shine when sitting again...).
Belle (Hope Dawe) and Sebastian (Luke McCall) – and yes, clever on the names, Mr McHugh – are equally enchanting. Dawe is a dream princess with attitude. McCall handles both transformations brilliantly, sadly scaring one tot out of the fourth row, but more than enthralling the bolder youngsters. Dancing together at the end, we believe in pantomime romance once more.
Cherece Richards as The Enchantress not only has the best outfit in the show, but a strong vocal in the best song too.
A lively ensemble of five dancers always add colour and display strong timing with several ambitious lifts on a confined stage executed particularly well.
With proper topical humour – swipes at Tesla, Trump and the Winter Fuel Allowance, a proper story that will satisfy the little boys in the audience as much as the young girls, and a cast working their socks off to add a gallon of individuality to each performance with a quip or nine, this really is what family panto is about.
Richmond scores big this year, and that really is as true as it can be.
5 stars.
Photos credit: Danny Kaan. Used by kind permission of Richmond Theatre.