“Dick Whittington and his Cat” by Sean Baker and Bill Handley (February 2015), directed by Ron Meadows. View high-resolution versions of these pictures.
What they said about Dick Whittington and his Cat on the Bluntisham Facebook page:
“Well done to everyone involved in the BaCStage panto – came to your opening night yesterday and my son and I both really enjoyed it :-)”
“Wow if u have tickets for the panto u r in for a real treat. Thanks all for a great night out”
“Fantastic panto, BaCStage – well done”
“The BaCStage panto was brilliant, so funny. I’m biased but the rats were superb and as for Alice Fitzwarren….”
Dick Whittington is the story of a young orphan who goes to London to seek his fortune, as he has heard that the city’s streets are paved with gold.
Alone in London he is conned out of his last money. Desolate, he meets a cat named Tommy who befriends him and shows him around London. Dick and Tommy find that, far from being paved with gold, London is a dark, busy and lonely place. Dick manages to finds a place to stay and works for a wealthy merchant named Fitzwarren. He works with Sarah the Cook and Idle jack. Fitzwarren has a daughter named Alice. Dick and Alice quickly fall in love, but the story’s villain, Queen Rat, conspires to come between them.
Queen Rat rules the underworld of London with her rats and sets a trap for Dick so that he is accused of stealing money from Alice’s father. Dick is sent from the city in disgrace and sadly he begins to make his way home, until he falls asleep and has a dream that the bells of London, orchestrated by the Fairy Bowbelle, chime a message to him, telling him to return to London where he will one day become Lord Mayor!
He returns to the city with Tommy and they get the opportunity to be part of the crew on a ship sailing from the port. While at sea, Queen Rat causes the ship to sink in a storm, and the crew gets washed up on the shores of Morocco.
The Sultan of Morocco finds that his country becomes overrun by rats – a problem, Dick assures him, that Tommy the cat, being a champion rat-catcher, can solve. In return for saving his country, the Sultan gives Dick more gold and jewels than he could have dreamed of, and so, when he returns to London, he is greeted as a hero. Just as the bells told him, Dick becomes Lord Mayor of London . . . and marries his beloved Alice.
Dick Whittington is not a fairy tale but is a story loosely based on the life of Richard Whittington, who lived in the fourteenth century.
The BaCStage pantomime has been written by local authors so you can expect the story and the characters to be a little different.
The Cast
Fairy Bow-Belle (Noelene Billabong) . . . . Ash
Sharon Rat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mia
Tracey Rat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lottie
Dick Whittington. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom
Street Trader 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Richard
Jeannie, his Wife. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Becky
Street Trader 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peter
Cheeky Boy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Josh
Tommy the Cat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cynthia
Idle Jack. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ross
Sarah the Cook. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kevin
Alderman Fitzwarren. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jerry
Alice Fitzwarren. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lucy
Queen Rat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Christine
Rat-a-onesie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Daniel
Rat-a-touille . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Megan
Rat-a-trio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zara
Rat-a-quattro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Izzy
Wormtail Rat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nicola
Magic Mirror. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jane
Ernie Bond Rat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Richard
Bosun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jess
Mister Mate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Josh
Captain Tuna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Peter
Sailor 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Abigail
Sailor 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rhiannon
Sultan’s Servant 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jackie
Sultan’s Servant 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Becky
Sultan Pepper of Morocco . . . . . . . . . . Richard
Chorus
London Citizens & Little Honda Crew. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Abigail, Jane, Jess, Rhiannon,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jackie, Amy, Jo, Becky
Dancers. . . . . . . Abigail, Rhiannon, Lottie, Mia
Skipper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amy
