"Dick Whittington"

Derby Arena.

I have checked as extensively as I can and this is the only Dick that is available around this and the Derby area this festive season. Written by Morgan Brind, he weaves his very own special panto magic throughout the age old story of Dick and his cat, as they travel south in search of golden pavements, as well as ridding Hotel Stilton of the infestation of rats, led by Queen Rat herself.

The Hotel is ran by Alderman Fitzwarren and his daughter Alice Fitzwarren, who falls for Dick in a big way, but after a nasty framing case by Queen Rat, Dick and his pussy are thrown out into the streets, and as they head back to derby from London, Dick gets a message to turn back and prove his innocence.

To do this he has to disguise himself, along with Tommy the Cat, to get aboard the new cruise liner that the Alderman has bought, but things do not go as ship shape as planned!

Morgan plays Dame Mabel, who starts off as the Dame on reception at Hotel Stilton. He is his usual cheeky self and the costumes are as outrageous as ever, you wouldn't expect anything less, and the audience are not disappointed. The writing is as clever as ever with even more wordplay than ever. The jokes are predominantly new, and are funny, cheesy, corny, saucy and even the odd old joke makes you smile. 

There's a sketch which involves flags of the world with even more clever wordplay which I can't remember seeing before as well as a wonderful sketch inside the ship and the renovation of the broken down ship's engine, again utilising clever wordplay which you really have to listen to in order to get the full comedic effect. Both new to me and both very funny. It must be increasingly difficult to write new sketches that have not been done before and to continually make them funny for the large age range that pantomimes attract; then again Morgan's writing has always been exceptional, and he surrounds himself with talented people who he knows how to write for and who will land his lines perfectly.

Starring alongside Derby's favourite Dame is Coronation Street's Wendi Peters as Queen Rat. The gorgeous Wendi is a multi talented actor who can perform solo shows, star in classics like "Sister Act" and then, in the New Year, star in "Glorious" as American Socialite, Florence Foster Jenkins, who was known for her flamboyant costumes, enigmatic performances, and decidedly off-key voice. Nothing off-key to be ratted out in this role though as Wendi pops in and out of the story with some ratten, sorry rotten threats. Having seen Wendi in full on musical mode before, it was no surprise to me of her dancing and singing abilities, both of which are in evidence as Queen Rat.

There are several familiar faces to see in this year's panto including Kristian Cunningham who takes the lead role as Dick Whittington. As ever, super confident and immediately likeable. His disguise to get on the Alderman's cruise liner will make you smile, and I don't think I'll look at Taylor Swift in the same way again without thinking of Kristian. His voice shows his musical theatre experience as it cuts through the massive auditorium that is Derby Arena, and when he brings the vocals down he gives you chills.

Roddy Peters is back, this year as The Alderman. Morgan has written some wonderful wordplay sections for Roddy this year, and one thing that you notice when you see Morgan's work, is that he is very generous with the comedy lines and the wordplay for his co-stars. Two of the funniest sketches involve Morgan, Kristian and Roddy, namely the "flags" sketch and the "boiler room" sketch, and it's not just the audience that are rocking in that scene.

Also making a return to the Derby Arena stage is Nicola Martinus Smith in the role of Fairy Bow Bells. Of course with the setting being down south, there's plenty of rhyming from Fairy Bow Bells, as well as Queen Rat. Nicola pops in and out as much as Queen Rat, and they even get to perform a duet together which is great fun to see.

Playing Alice is Ruby Hewitt, a new name to me, but a real find for this panto audience. She looks gorgeous and can deliver a funny and saucy line without making it sound too salacious.

Tommy The Cat is played with great athleticism by Kai Harris. A very agile dancer and performer and a welcome addition to this year's pantomime, I have a feline that this won't be his only appearance in a Little Wolf pantomime as he was a hit with the audience.

The good looking and equally energetic ensemble are made up of Chloe Hopcroft, Alfie Aves, Anna King, Luke Cartledge, Evie Storr and Dominic Wood.

There are three teams of young performers, not sure which one was on tonight but the teams are....

Team Paws, who are Summer Featherstone, Alice Cureton, Madeline Sharpe, Betsy Stevens, Esmie Smith-Cockayne (now there's a name that I remember having seen before), Chloe Ashford, Louis Gillespie and Ellie Hockey.

Team Tails, who are Demi Nixon, Scarlett Hunt, Emmie Gibson, Heidi Skates, Maisie Baker, Rhaea Parker, James Breen and Tilly-Lou Moore.

Team Whiskers, who are Verity Watson, Maria McGinty, Alyssa Lemmey, Laila Owen, Wallis Sutton, Emily Box, Wilbert Jay Leysa and Lilimay Tipton.

Directed by Mark Chatterton, he made sure that the pantomime pace was kept up to speed, and this show really does go at a pace and a half!

Choreographed by Matthew Wesley. there are some lovely choreographed pieces here, especially the brilliant "Abracadabra" that Wendi is involved with; a magical part of this year's Christmas fare. The ensemble numbers are big and bouncy with the stage being filled with action. I also loved the "Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat" section which, as anyone who has seen this choreographed piece from "Guys n Dolls" will know is a great section for a choreographer.

Musical Director is Ong Cheng Kan on piano, who led his trio of Corrina Etherington (Reeds) and John Clark (Percussion). How can so much music come from just three musicians?

Costumes always play a massive part in any show, but when it's panto they need to stand out, especially the dame's costumes, and they certainly do, just take a look at Mabel's "beached" costume, or should that be "beach" costume and her "tap" costume, so innovative and so clever. 

Sound Design is by David Cooper, and for the majority of the show, everything was perfect, but then there was the dreaded mic pack issue, and this time it was Kristian's pack that gave up the ghost, and even the hand held mic he used after that didn't work properly. A few missed cues but on the whole didn't mar the show, you know what a picky so and so I am with sound and getting everything just right. That said, the mix between music and vocals was good and I could hear every word, even on the back tier.

Lighting Designer is Alexandra Stafford. Big, bright and beautiful (wouldn't that make a great title for a song for musical theatre?), well that's what the lighting was like for this panto. Top marks from me.

There are some lovely music choices used in this panto, some I didn't even know, but worked well with the storyline. Brilliantly catchy songs like Lady Gaga's "Abracadabra", Huntr X's "Golden" and Rose and Bruno Mars' "Apt" -  songs that are featured in other local pantomimes, but pop classics like Village People's "In The Navy" and musical theatre biggies like "I Can Hear the Bells" from "Hairspray" and the aforementioned "Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat" just keep those toes tapping. It's also the third pantomime that has a section on "Strictly Come Dancing", which is also quite fun.

Little Wolf Pantomimes are always going to be a hit with me because of the quality of the writing, especially with this years' abundance of word play being used so skilfully, the enthusiasm from the cast and dancers and the ability to make me smile, even at the cheesiest of jokes, and the quality of the newly written gags.

Just watch out for abundance this year in the water cannons! There's no escape, wherever you are sat.

"Dick Whittington" is at Derby Arena until Wednesday 31 December.