Mayoral hopeful creates Cool Britannia in Oxford

ANYONE keen to revisit the days of Britpop will find plenty of references in Oxford Playhouse’s pantomime Dick Whittington.

With an adaptation written by Toby Hulse, the story has been set in the Nineties, where Whittington has to save the world from Liam Rattagher and his brother Noel, and bring back “Cool Britannia”.

This is Toby’s fourth pantomime for the theatre in Beaumont Street. He says: “The original pantomime story is inspired by the life of a real person, Richard Whittington, who became the Lord Mayor of London three times over.

“Dick is an ordinary young man from Gloucester who travels to London with his cat to make his fortune, having been told that the streets are paved with gold. When he finds that this isn’t true, he nearly returns home, but hears the bells of London tolling ‘Turn again, Whittington’. After many further adventures, including a trip to Morocco, he and his cat rid London of a plague of rats. Through this Dick finds love, happiness, and riches and becomes Lord Mayor.”

Starring Daisy Ann Fletcher as Dick “Dot” Whittington, the cast also includes Robin Hemmings as Liam Rattagher, Elliott Wooster as Fairy Bowbells, Lucy Frederick as Sarah Fitzwarren, Sophia Lewis as Alice Fitzwarren and Daniel Forrester as Damian Allbran. The ensemble is Macy Dermody-Blythe and Stefanos Petri.

“We have kept all the main elements of the story, but thrown them up in the air, sprinkled them with glitter and created an entirely new pantomime set in a weird and wonderful version of the Nineties,” adds Toby.

“Dick is now Dot, a trader from Gloucester Green Market, Oxford, lured to London by a fairy disguised as a cat, to help defeat the evil brothers Liam and Noel Rattagher. Expect breakdancing rats, an all-singing all-dancing bus, a mop-wielding army training to Britney Spears and the owner of a pie and mash shop aiming to be Lord Mayor.”

The show celebrates diversity and self-acceptance and champions the underdog, says Toby.

“Each of the main characters is in some way held back by tradition, and for them to achieve their dreams, they have to assert themselves against what is expected of them by others.

“Running alongside this is the Rattagher brothers’ evil plan to make everything in the world uniform, identical and bland.

“To defeat this, our heroes have to find out and express how they are different and unique. These are universal, human themes and, although the world of our pantomime is a very daft one, the story has a lot to say about the challenges that we all face. The story also celebrates ordinary working people rising to the top, which was very present in the Nineties explosion of British music called Britpop.

“The traditional pantomime story also firmly believes that wishes can come true — a belief reflected in the rise of talent shows during the decade, starting with The X-Factor.

“There is an underlying message to the story that all that glitters is not gold — we should be wary of false promises, hype and spin. The Nineties were the decade of the spin doctor, the PR agencies and celebrity magazines.”

Audiences can expect to hear the music of Oasis and Blur as well as some Take That, East 17, Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys.

All the panto elements will be there, adds Toby: “a gripping story, characters that we love — even the baddies, great singing and dancing, jokes and nonsense accessible to everyone regardless of age, and, of course, magic.

“A pantomime is the ultimate Christmas treat. The first pantomime I remember seeing was Dick Whittington at the Royal Exchange in Manchester, with children’s TV legend Derek Griffiths as King Rat.

“I still have vivid memories of him slinking through the audience, and visibly lapping up the boos. I must also mention Chris Harris, who I saw many times as the Dame in Bath and Bristol. The joyful exuberance with which he breathed new life into traditional routines and his perfectly pitched sense of humour have been an enormous influence on me.”

Last year’s pantomime, Toby’s adaptation of Sleeping Beauty, received a special recognition award at this year’s UK Panto Awards.

The show created a memorable moment for the writer and director.

“The first time that we tried the pre-show of Sleeping Beauty with a schools’ audience, we had set the theatre up as if it were an Eighties Radio 1 roadshow, complete with DJs at a booth”, he says.

“To see something like 500 young people up on their feet dancing to the Communards at 10am in the morning, before the show had even started, was truly extraordinary.

“The Oxford Playhouse audience is energetic, enthusiastic, a little bit rowdy and definitely there in the theatre to have a good time. Without the audience, a Playhouse pantomime would not be what it is.

“Pantomime is unique and filled with weird and wonderful traditions, but it is in no way exclusive. Buckle up and enjoy the ride and, if you are a child, prepare yourself for many years of loving live entertainment – there is absolutely nothing like it.”

l Dick Whittington is at the Oxford Playhouse until Sunday, January 4. For more information, call the box office on 01865 305305 or visit oxfordplayhouse.com