Review: DICK WHITTINGTON AND HIS CAT, Hackney Empire

“Turn again, Whittington, Lord Mayor of London”

For its 25th pantomime, the Hackney Empire is putting on Dick Whittington and His Cat, directed by and starring Clive Rowe, who has been the resident Dame of the Hackney Empire for years. This particular production of Dick Whittington has been written by Will Brenton with original music and songs by Steve Edis and stars Kandaka Moore as the titular Whittington and Kat B as Tommy the Cat. 

The story follows Dick and Tommy on their adventure to London where they must face King Rat (Graham MacDuff) and his rat army to save the residents of the city, including Alderman Fitzwarren (Tony Timberlake) and his daughter, Alice (Aryana Ramkhalawon). 

As the resident Dame, Rowe quickly establishes himself as the lead of the show as Sarah the Cook, made even more obvious by the extravagant costumes designed by Cleo Pettitt that include an old-fashioned till, a cruise ship and even a pepper grinder (once you are aware of how many innuendos Rowe makes, you can guess what kind of jokes come out of this costume). As someone who has yet to fully understand pantomime culture (but is doing her best!), there will always be a few things I miss out on that a more seasoned pantomime-goer may appreciate more.

In this show in particular, there appears to already be a connection between the audience and Rowe, which makes sense as he has been the resident Dame for years. He has a particular call and response with the audience that I never caught. However, even this rapport with the audience wanes several times, with Rowe himself commenting on losing the crowd when jokes don’t land. 

The best part of the show is its incredibly talented ensemble, made up of Jemima Daws, Alfie Simmons, Olivia Kate Holding, Wilson Kiiru, Nicole Reeves, Fraser Stewart and Lauren Wadsworth. They are given a chance to shine in a medley of pop songs in Act Two when our heroes find themselves shipwrecked on “Ee-El-Pie” Island, home to the Sultan of Swing and his followers. Daws and Simmons are also a fantastic duo as Scratch and Sniff, the two leaders of the Rat King’s rat pack. Another great aspect of the pantomime is the inclusion of the Hackney Empire Young Ensemble, with a group of young people that tended to get the most cheers from the supportive audience.

Having a live band for a pantomime is also a delight, especially when the musical director is allowed to play with the performers on stage, with one particular highlight being when the leads are singing the “If I Were Not” song and musical director, arranger, orchestra and supervisor extraordinaire Alex Maynard popping his head out of the pit to have the performers go faster. That song is also great in that it shows off the silly yet clever choreography by Shay Barclay, who should have been given more opportunities to show off his skills, especially when we are given a glimpse of what Moore and Kat B can do in The Wiz’s “Ease on Down the Road!”

Unfortunately, there are several aspects of this production that let down its talented cast and musicians, with the main issue being the sound design. In nearly every musical number it was very difficult to understand the lyrics over the band playing, and even when the performers were just speaking I found it hard to hear what was going on. In what should have been a powerful number, a dueling duet between Rat King and Fairy Bowbells (Beth Sindy gives a lovely performance), the sound mixing was completely off, leading to it being impossible to understand what either performer is singing. One can also hear the set moving around in the background, which grows distracting, even with the silliness of the pantomime on stage.

Something a bit disappointing about this pantomime compared to other ones I have seen is the lack of pop culture references. For a pantomime that keeps with tradition in so many other ways - the “It’s Behind You!” song, current hits having lyrics rewritten (Chappell Roan’s “Hot to Go!” becomes “Rat King!”), the Dame and her “assistant” (Idle Jack played by Max Mirza) getting into a messy fight and sweets being thrown into the audience - there is very little that would prove that this pantomime was written for 2024. One of the only political jokes in the show is about Liz Truss, a joke two years late! The show as a whole also tends to be a bit too dramatic, at times struggling to find the line between being a serious show and a silly pantomime. 

Dick Whittington and His Cat is a decent pantomime, but it is so traditional that it struggles to stand out from other shows this holiday season. The performers are great but are not given much material to work with - combine that with quite a few technical issues and you get an average pantomime that has potential to be so much more.

Dick Whittington and His Cat runs until 5 January 2025 at the Hackney Empire

Photo Credit: Mark Senior