Review: Dick Whittington (Oxford Playhouse)

I was invited to review Dick Whittington at the Oxford Playhouse and initially was not sure about going to a pantomime. However, I went along and I can only say it has validated my aim to be open minded this year about the types of show I see.

First thing first, I must mention the programme (my publishing experience means I do notice these things!).  The paper is a really high quality but on top of the details of all the people involved, I personally enjoyed The Road to Panto description of how a pantomime develops from planning stages to opening night.

This production of Dick Whittington was written and directed by Toby Hulse, who managed to keep elements of the traditional storyline, whilst setting it in the 90s between London and Oxenford.  The comedic location references were not lost on the locals in the audience. The writing and humour throughout was the clever style that aims information out at the audience with individuals taking age-appropriate references. Plus of course the cringe inducing “dad jokes” that you expect to find in a panto.

There was a pre-show with some of the cast engaging with the audience and getting everyone in the mood for the panto.  Once the show began and Liam Rattagher appeared on the stage, I realised we were in for a treat. Robin Hemming’s take on this character was basically ‘Liam Gallagher is on stage playing this rat’. His ridiculously accurate mannerisms and vocal delivery of Liam's speech made this such a hysterical performance to watch.  A little later we naturally had Damian Allbran appearing, Daniel Forrester’s take on him being equally spot on and the banter between these two was just what you’d expect from these 90s rivals.

Lucy Frederick was magnificent as the panto Dame, Sarah Fitzwarren. It was refreshing to see a woman pay this role, and what a brilliant delivery of her it was.  Her engagement with the carefully selected audience member (some may say victim) who was picked out for a bit of participation was natural and (even for him, it seemed), entertaining. Her comic timing was fantastic and facial expressions really amusing too.

Sophia Lewis played her daughter, Alice Fitzwarren, going from one boyband crush to the next while her devoted friend Albert Square (Fintan Hayeck) looked on.  This allowed plenty of references to 90s pop culture along with relatable character development as Alice and Albert’s friendship continued.  This all led us nicely on to a scene where there were auditions for a talent show to be in a group called ‘Boy Bland’ and a brilliant scene where Alice imagines a poster (of her current favourite boy band) coming to life, a performance taking place and more (no spoilers here).

Daisy Ann Fletcher played Dick “Dot” Whittington, a captivating performance that had the audience rooting for her along the way, the first time she met Damian a fantastic scene which was very well choreographed. Of course, Dick Whittington has an infamous cat friend, in this case Fairy Bowbells in disguise.  Elliot Wooster’s portrayal of this character and the various others they disguised themselves as were engaging and the cat costume and their makeup was stunning.

Macy Dermody-Blythe and Stefanos Petri made up the ensemble and as such were involved in multiple scenes as many different characters all of which were useful in moving the story forward.

The thing to note about this entire cast is they all have fantastic vocals, can dance and ad lib effortlessly; the quality of each performance was perfect.

We had one of the two young companies, “pie” made up of Ella-May, Angel, Keitta, Charlie, Annabel and Yuen, and they were very involved with many of the scenes adding to the dancing and vocals, some of them even having solos at times.

The creative team behind this panto is enormous, and that makes a great deal of sense when you see the show and realise how much work has gone into it, from the set to the costumes and lighting, the sound effects and music, everything works seamlessly together with the result being a totally engaging, uplifting and thoroughly entertaining evening.  The band was constantly visible on stage, and despite there only being three of them, the music was fantastic.

If you feel like seeing a show that will get you in the festive mood, or at very least leave you feel energised and in very good spirits, this is a show for you.  Suitable for all ages, everything about it was top notch.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Dick Whittington is showing at Oxford Playhouse until Sunday 4 January 2026.

I was gifted a ticket for this show in exchange for an honest review.