The show was unpretentious and honest and it was good to see the time-honoured traditions of British panto upheld in this age of super high-tech screen-based cyberspace-geared home entertainment. There was plenty of opportunity for the capacity audience to give as good as it got. And what a lot it got - sing-a-longs, sweetie-throwing, birthday greetings booing, hissing and cheering.
The cheerfully smiling, energetic chorus never ceased to be 100% committed to providing as much joy and pleasure as possible for its audience. The principal characters all gave generously of their time and talents to bring together a wonderful pre-Christmas entertainment to the most appreciative of audiences. I have never heard such roof-raising audience participation ~ even in theatres of much larger capacity.
The small but effective band of musicians was exactly what was needed; the lighting was competent and efficient; the set design was simple and attractive and the harem scene in the palace of the Sultan of Morocco looked sumptuous.
Maidenhead Guild's 'Dick Whittington' was a panto to inspire dreams, fire the imagination and return one's faith in honest-to-goodness family entertainment.
