Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review.
The magic of pantomime returns for another festive season at Leicester's beautiful De Montfort Hall. Imagine and the venue this year produces Dick Whittington.
The story of penniless Dick, who heads off to London to seek fortune, joined by his trusty cat. London is being overrun by rats, led by the evil Queen Rat. The sweeping adventure goes from the streets of London to China and beyond in this wondrous tale.
The traditional tale is given fun modernistations. The returning Jarred Christmas takes on both the role of the comic and the romantic lead as Dick himself. He gets to flex his comedy muscles while also showcasing his acting talents. It works quite well, and Christmas is always good value. Dick's Cat, Boots, is played by beatboxing supremo Hobbit. Hobbit shines with the delivery of the role, impressive with his vocal wizardry and a myriad of sounds. Rebecca Keatley is a warm friendly presence as Alice Fitzwarren, providing the key central romance alongside Christmas' Dick
Richie Anderson makes his pantomime debut as Alderman Fitzwarren. He clearly is having a really fun time and his delivery is louder than any of the sets or his costumes. He is engaging and has that nice twinkle of naughtiness to him, too.
Suzanne Shaw is a bright presence as Fairy Bow Bells; she delivers her monologues really strongly. Djalenga Scott is a fantastic villain as Queen Rat. She has a great time and enjoys a chorus of boos from the audience. There are fun little nods to Wicked in the relationship between Bow Bells and Queen Rat - it would have been fun for this to be explored more, but it would be hard to fit this into the plot.
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| Jack Ballard as Sarah The Cook. |
Undoubtedly, the star of the production is Jack Ballard as Sarah The Cook. Ballard has an ease and confidence, along with a lovely playfulness, in his delivery. He gets a great array of larger-than-life costumes and some cracking gags throughout. Ballard is so comfortable with the audience and that shines throughout.
One of the strongest ensembles I've seen across the pantomime this season bring to life Stuart Rogers lively choreography whilst the musical numbers are well placed and a nice mix of modern songs, like Golden from Kpop Demon Hunters, to musical theatre staples like What Is This Feeling from Wicked or Welcome To The Sixties from Hairspray.
The vast stage of De Montfort Hall is a wide one but the set fills the space really well and is visually stunning to watch. The lighting by Simon 'Fuzzy' Broadbridge adds glitz, glamour and danger to proceedings.
There are some fun tradition pantomime staples here, including the iconic 12 Days of Christmas and the classic bench scene. It would have been nice to see moments like a slosh scene but I do admire the production trying different things, such as the beatbox song creation, rather than the traditional song sheet.
Occasionally, the sound, particularly in the musical numbers, is loud and the bass means that the vocals of the company can be long and I'd have personally liked to see more comedy moments.
All in all, this production of Dick Whittington is undoubtedly great fun to watch. It's always lovely to see a venue try something different with a tale. Leicester needs a big pantomime and De Montfort Hall's is always a treat to watch.
Dick Whittington runs until Saturday 3rd January 2026. Tickets are available from https://www.demontforthall.co.uk/event/dick-whittington/
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| Richie Anderson as Alderman Fitzwarren and Company. |
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