THERE was plenty of family-friendly entertainment (and a sack-load of jokes for the adults) when Jigsaw Players staged its annual panto Dick Whittington at the Trinity Centre in Lickey.
The story – if you do not know it – centres on Dick who heads to London to find fame and fortune but his plans – and the livelihoods of those living there – are in danger of being scuppered by the evil King Rat.
Accompanied by his trusty companion Tommy the cat, he battles to ensure good triumphs over evil.
This was a terrifically traditional pantomime with everything you want – colourful costumes, cracking choreography and songs from the ensemble laying the foundations, great corny one-liners and lots of good visual gags.
The cast did a tremendous job across the board.
Maggie Stone was solid as Fairy Bow Bells, ensuring the magic reached Dick and his friends and, likewise, Keelan Pavitt and Roma Bradley worked well as the hapless Captain Slog and Bosun.
Georgia Kesterton was suitably cute as the heroic Tommy the Cat meowing her way through and conversing with Dick in a feline-version of Lassie kind of way.
Harrison Daley earned a plethora of boos and hisses everytime he entered the fray as King Rat – probably the suavest suited and booted villain in the panto world. He also performed his solo well.
Hannah Price as Dick and Naomi Waldron as Alice Fitzwarren made a lovable pairing the audience took to their hearts straight away and had, arguably, the vocal highlight of the evening with their duet in the first act. It deservedly led to a massive cheer and raptuous applause as soon as the last note landed.
Glyn Diggett was a commanding Alderman Fitzwarren as he strutted across the stage and his solo in the second half was also among the musical highlights – he hit every note. He also showed his comedic side when the chance presented itself.
Talking of comedy, Libby Barrett was excellent as Idle Jack. She got plenty of laughs throughout with perfectly delivered one-liners – this was epitomised in the shop scene when various villagers rocked up to buy different items.
There were many humorous scenes in this fantastic production, including one centring on the football pools, the cake-making scene (for the slapstick fans out there) and the pick of them – the ‘If I Were Not on Board this Ship’ song. That featured six of the principals all singing their own lines and doing their own lines simultaneously while avoiding ‘taking each other out. It would have taken a lot or concentration and certainly generated lots of laughter and applause at the end.
But the performance of the night went to Stephen Levett as Sarah Stewpot who ensured the dame had a magnificent stage presence – the bulk of the (mostly adult) jokes were brilliantly delivered the audience were in the palm of his/her hand. Levett led from the front and you could tell he/she enjoyed every minute.
It may only be mid-November but this panto is guaranteed to get you in the Christmas spirit already.
The remaining performances take place at 7.15pm on Friday with two shows each on Saturday and Sunday – November 22 and 23 – they will be at 1.30pm and 7pm.
Tickets, at £14 each, are available by emailing: [email protected] or by calling Su Fletcher on 07772 645722 or 07919 505764.
4th Jun, 2026
