If you have room for just one more panto make it Ricky Whittington & His Cat. The new spin on an old story by Liam Williams and Daran Johnson has everything you could want from a modern grown-up panto - song, dance, villains, talking cats and a garnish of angry anti-capitalist politics.
In this witty contemporary spin on the story of London Mayor Whittington, Fresh Meat’s Charlotte Ritchie plays the hero who comes to London, accidentally becomes mayor and, just as accidentally, destroys evil property developer King Rat who is scaring out ordinary folk and planning to build the biggest luxury flat ever built.
If it sounds serious and worthy don’t panic, there is plenty of fun to be had along the way. Some of the previous work by Williams and Johnson in sketch group Sheeps has been on the obscure side but this is an easily digestible populist piece that remembers to be entertaining while getting its message across.
They are also blessed with a skilful cast that adds oodles of oomph to the proceedings. Ritchie is excellent as the naive hero, while Rob Carter squeezes every last drop of rodenty nastiness out of his wicked King Rat. E|lie White offers a quirky performance as another Mayoral candidate and love interest Alice and Omar Ibrahim as the cat has a laugh underlining the irony of a talking feline. Emily Lloyd-Saini is good as a gloomy bar owner among other roles.
It is also well worth mentioning David Elms, who breaks the fourth wall to cheeky effect as obligatory panto dame Big Pam. And there is a special guest every night as Time Cop (don't ask) – on this occasion it was Adam Riches.
The result is a clever up-to-the-minute adult version of a traditional theatrical form with lots of good knowing lines, good subversive humour and good catchy tunes (by Johnson and David Pegg). There are not many pantos around that include a sex scene between the two leads which involves them bumping bums behind a curtain. It would be a shame if it is never seen again after January 7. Ricky Whittington should be an annual event.
Until January 7. Tickets here.
