Adults-only goes down a storm at Newbury panto
Dick Whittington Adult Night
at the Corn Exchange, Newbury
on Saturday, December 21
Review by TONY TRIGWELL-JONES
WITH its roots stretching back over 500 years, to the bawdy theatre of Commedia dell’Arte, what is now the traditional Christmas pantomime has always sailed close to the wind when it comes to double entendres and lightly risqué scenarios. So, the idea of taking the format and performing it to an audience of adults seems only natural.
Since the early 1990s, a handful of producers have dabbled with creating ‘blue’ pantomimes, laden with bad-language and seafront postcard gaggery. However, as far as I’m aware, the Corn Exchange was among a pioneering (and evidently enterprising) group of civic venues who, around 20 years ago, started to set aside one evening of their annual family panto run, which was just for grown-ups.
What they have done brilliantly over the years is to maintain that these performances are broadly the same show they would do for a family audience, so there is nothing additionally smutty or off-colour about them.
Staying true to this objective, the Plested, Brown and Wilsher team have written and directed a perfectly pitched panto that, on adult night can lean a little more into the gags that would otherwise fly over the heads of a family crowd, and the audience can let their hair down a bit.
This year, with lead roles that include Dick and his Pussycat, there is some potential low-hanging fruit, which is plundered to good effect, by the whole company. With the Dame traditionally given the lion’s share of near-the-knuckle material, Scott Riney’s Jolene Malone resists the urge to go off the rails. But then, their most edgy puns and plays on words are in the original script for all audiences.
Alex Crandon is a buoyantly villainous Percy (King) Rat. His playful moments with Detective Fairy Bowbells (Grace Kelly Miller) are among the funniest in the show (both adult and family versions). Jade Johnson as Cosmo the Cat and Chris Rankin as Alderman Fitzwarren, run a good line in breaking character, pulling solid laughs by exposing the hardships of a pantomime actor. Shannon Bourne (Alice) and Kai Harris (Dick) play the whole thing straight, while trying also to hold it together. And speaking of holding it together, Adam Craig, Finna Hardy and Jake Poolman seem to be having an absolute blast as the small ensemble team, they are camper than a Strictly Christmas special.
The strongest moments were those that were authentically playful, either because the actors were caught off guard, or were genuinely having the best time! This meant that, on the odd occasion that someone tried something overtly ‘adult’, it actually felt somewhat out of place, falling flatter than more innocently hilarious moments.
This may, in part be because the script itself is a fast-paced, whip smart and completely bonkers reinterpretation of a classic pantomime, which retains many traditional set pieces, while proving contemporary and engaging.
It might, also be that attending an adult performance allows us grown-ups to let go of our responsibilities and, for a while, release our inner child!
Such is the success of the Corn Exchange’s ‘adult’ shows, there are four this year (the last one being Saturday, January 3). However, to be honest you can enjoy this festive treat at any time, with or without the kids.
