Dick Whittington And His Cat kicks off festive season as pantomime returns at Newark Palace Theatre
Pantomime will be returning to Newark’s Palace Theatre on Tuesday with the first performance of Dick Whittington And His Cat.
The long-awaited winter production marks the start of the festive season and promises a spectacular comedy show with an acrobatic cat and live music.
Dick Whittington And His Cat will transport audiences from the streets of London to a spectacular voyage across the seven seas to Morocco with a colourful cast of characters from the witty Dick Whittington and his cat to Sarah the Cook and her wayward son Idle Jack.
The traditional pantomime is back after the cancellation of last year’s performance of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, which was set to be re-scheduled for this Christmas.
“Dick Whittington and His Cat allows much better flexibility for this than Snow White, largely due to the number of young performers required to be in the show,” said Palace Theatre manager Carys Coulton-Jones.
Katherine Glover, who stars in the lead role, said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be heading to Newark to play Dick Whittington this December.
“It’s so exciting to be back in a theatre; especially one as beautiful as the Palace. The show is going to be filled with music, dancing, lots of laughs and feel good fun. My cat and I can’t wait to see everyone there!”
Katherine will be joined by Andrew Piper as the villainous King Rat, who also starred as Abanazar in the theatre’s 2018 production of Aladdin, Mark Siney as the panto’s fabulous dame Sarah the Cook, Kevin James as Idle Jack, Lauren Chinery as Fairy Bow-Bells, Amy Everett as Alice Fitzwarren and Daisy Fitzgerald as the Cat.
During a sneak peek behind the scenes in October, the acrobatic cat could be seen in handstands and splits, prowling around the stage and posing on all fours.
Andrew Piper also appeared every bit the pantomime villain with a devilish laugh and imposing presence as King Rat.
Carys Coulton-Jones said: “It will be truly magical to see our theatre packed with happy smiling faces, enjoying the biggest family event of the year once again.
“To put your mind at ease about treating yourself to this wonderful show, we’ve put in place some extra safety precautions including increased ventilation with auditorium doors being left open, enhanced cleaning and more.
“We’ve also introduced a new Book With Confidence Guarantee so that if any members of your party are unable to attend due to covid self-isolation or symptoms, their tickets can easily be refunded.
“We’re ready to make this year’s panto a celebration truly befitting its return and we look forward to seeing you all in December.”
The Palace Theatre have teamed up with new pantomime partners Jordan Productions to wow audiences this festive season.
“We are so pleased to finally be able to bring our magical production of Dick Whittington and his Cat to the beautiful Palace Theatre,” said Chris Jordan, from Jordan Productions.
“We are really looking forward to working with the Theatre’s team and being able to celebrate Christmas properly once again with the return of spectacular live pantomime for the whole family”.
Dick Whittington And His Cat will run from Tuesday until New Year’s Eve.
