Dick Whittington: A New Dick in Town at Above the Stag

Like many a gay country lad, Dick comes to the big city in search of men and money. But just as Londoners are getting back on their feet, dastardly mayoral candidate Queen Rat and her minions rise up to bite them in the ankles! When she frames Dick for a terrible crime, Dick stiffens himself for a great adventure. Can he clear his name, win back his boy and defeat Queen Rat before she brings London to its knees – and not in a good way?

Above the Stag’s adult queer pantomime is legendary, and after experiencing one for the first time I can see why!  Dick Whittington: A New Dick in Town combines all the panto classics; booing and hissing, the call and responses, the sing-alongs, and even more traditions you’ve likely forgotten about but with the taken the tongue-in-cheek aspect ramped up 100%.  In fact, it’s actually less tongue in cheek and more tongue in…well your best off watching to find out!  But there are more than just the obvious dick jokes here, there are inside jokes abound which are well absolutely devoured by the audience to unstoppable laughter.

This show takes the classic Dick Whittington tale and…well just makes it a whole lot gayer!  The key fundamentals of the story are here and yet every aspect is ramped up. This is a performance that doesn’t allow the audience to stop laughing for a minute.  Like any good panto, it is topical and the use of puppetry, set and costumes can’t be faulted.  The pacing, particularly in the second half of the show, is excellent and just adds to the rolling hilarity of the show.  This is especially true in the scenes where the panto dame Sarah, played by Matthew Balding, is present.  Their moments of ad libing and scene-stealing really bring joy and energy to the show.  This show is basically just a whole heap of fun!

After laughing this hard the Above the Stag panto might just have to become my new Christmas tradition!  Dick Whittington, A New Dick in Town is on at Above the Stag until the 16th of January.  Tickets are £28 and can be booked through the Above the Stag website.

Tickets were gifted in exchange for a review, all words and opinions are my own