So it’s Christmas time (who would’ve thought?), and in theatre world that automatically means panto season. Naturally you’ll be expecting all the old favourites: Aladdin, Snow White and Cinderella are amongst the most popular for children, but Dick! points straight to a gap in the market by creating a pantomime specifically for adults.
Dick! is positioned at the Leicester Square Theatre, right in the heart of London and next to Soho’s throbbing gay scene. The venue itself oozes trendiness, with a wide stage that is clearly designed for many a laugh at a comedy night, so it sets the scene perfectly for adult panto. Well, that and the fact that we were introduced into the auditorium with glammed-up carols that you couldn’t help shooting a couple of jazz hands at every now and then.
I have to say that I wasn’t sure what I was expecting from Dick!. I thought that it would be a very tongue-in-cheek, spoof-like production that would take the micky out of the average pantomime. But Dick! seems to go in an entirely different direction to this; it follows the traditional formula of a pantomime and adds in explicit words and phrases, and this is what makes it an ‘adult friendly’ zone. If I’m brutally honest, the base of Dick! let itself down, only due to the fact that the writing could and should be cleverer. Now I’m not expecting to walk into an Ibsen or Chekhov, but it misses the wittiness and nudge-nudge-wink-wink quality that it boasts in its promotion. All in all, it is too blatant, too obvious. I wanted innuendo and wit, not fart jokes, simulated orgies and songs with the words “Let’s all w*nk!”. It takes the fun out of the imagination of it – yes, we ALL know what they’re talking about, but there’s humour in the fact that is isn’t normally so explicit.
David Hodge, aka Dusty O, who plays Sofonda Cox is at the centre of the advertising, but I was disappointed to see so little of her. Again I was expecting high quality drag, the crème de la crème of London’s greatest queens. Sadly she delivers standard panto dame, which I suppose there isn’t too much wrong with (being a pantomime and all), but it misses the cherry on top. Perhaps Dusty O would thrive more if she were surrounded by the eye candy that the show is missing. I feel the production would have largely benefitted from camping up the ensemble with gorgeous men in hot pants; it’s such an obvious trait and one that is sorely missed. We are sadly left with an ensemble cast of only two clearly extremely technically talented performers, but they just can’t add enough sparkle on their own.
However, it has to be said that the cast does include some stand-out performances. Paula Masterton as Fairy Bell-End is extremely likable and has a singing voice that manages to blow the entire audience away! It is impossible to listen to her sing without your jaw dropping to the floor in awe. Another character who really stands out is Alice Fitznicely, played by the talented Rachael Born. Her expressive face is hilarious to watch throughout the entire piece, as she is totally enjoyable. She gets most of the laughs due to her inventiveness in what she brings to the character, and she completely owns it.
There are some great times, and some not so great times, but all in all Dick! could do with a bit of a nudge in the right direction in order to show off its greatest assets.
Dick! is playing at the Leicester Square Theatre until 30 December. For more information and tickets, see the Leicester Square Theatre website. Photo: Steve Ullathorne.
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