EMBARK ON A WHIRLWIND JOURNEY: PETERBOROUGH COLLEGE PRESENTS 'THE ADVENTURES OF DICK WHITTINGTON!'

Written by University Centre Peterborough student, Kirstie Marfleet and brought to life by the talented students at Peterborough College in their black box theatre, it was the first performance by some of the students but was executed so professionally, you would never know.

The details of this panto were incredibly well thought out, from brilliant casting to the subtle innuendos, to the captivating performances themselves, it was an amazing performance to be in the audience of.

The dancers showed amazing skill, putting their all into each movement while maintaining pinpoint timing and enthusiasm throughout. But what would the dancing be without the music, which was brilliantly orchestrated by Gemma McDowell, who also choreographed the performances alongside assistant choreographer Hayley Mercer.

One of the most intriguing parts of this pantomime was the way each actor brought their character to life. Some notable mentions here have to include Claudio Keita, playing the protagonist himself, Dick Whittington. With infectious enthusiasm and a natural flair for musical theatre, he not only played the character with traditional pantomime conventions- he made it his own. The role of traditional panto villain was played by Joe Tierney, King Rat, donning a cockney accent and depth to his performance by weaving emotions into every gesture and glance.

Holly Duffy, playing Tommy, portrayed her feline role exceptionally and brought humour in the form of a mildly grouchy hungover cat, which I think more people could relate to than would like to admit to also spending too long an evening in Charters.

And I couldn't finish writing this without including Dame Sarah, a character that seemed to strike a chord with both Owen Emery, playing Dame Sarah and, apparently, an audience member named Adam (at least during my viewing). In the realm of pantomime, a successful dame should make the audience slightly uncomfortable- they’re forward and exceptionally extroverted, and Owen accomplished this in the most delightful manner possible.

You can find a full gallery of photos from the panto here