by Chris Harris & Chris Denys

About

This was a great pantomime by two of the leading panto writers and great fun for cast and audience alike.

Synopsis

Dick Whittington comes to London to seek his fortune. Fairy Bowbells looks after him — Hooray! He meets Tommy, the extraordinary cat, and his loyal companion. Little does he know the evil King Rat — Boo! — is plotting his downfall. Dick arrives in London and becomes an apprentice in Alderman Fitzwarren's shop as storekeeper. Here he meets Sarah the Cook and Alderman Fitzwarren's other apprentice, Boson Billy, a bit of a lad. Of course, as in all pantomimes, Dick soon falls in love with the boss's daughter, the lovely Alice Fitzwarren.

Dick is framed and made to look like a thief by King Rat, who steals money and puts it in Dick's bag to be discovered by Fitzwarren. Banished, he leaves London with Tommy in disgrace. But on Highgate Hill Fairy Bow Bells appears and persuades him and Tommy to return, try again, and become Lord Mayor of London. He signs on as a sailor aboard Fitzwarren's ship, the Lady Alice, and they all set sail for Morocco. King Rat has other ideas, and conjures up a storm, and the boat is wrecked on the shores of Morocco where the crew are captured and brought before the Sultan, who is at his wit's end with a plague of rats. Tommy makes short work of the rats, including King Rat, and instead of executing them the Sultan rewards them and they return home to great festivities.

Cast