REVIEW: Dick Whittington and His Catford Cat at The Broadway Theatre in Catford 9th Dec – 31st Dec 2026
'Every moment sounds and sparkles with community spirit' ★★★★
A brand-new pantomime has taken to the streets of Catford on all four of its paws. Susie Mckenna’s child and adult friendly show, brings all the flavour, colour and style of the Windrush Generation back to life in post war London. Every moment sounds and sparkles with community spirit. Though you might catch Uncle Vincent, the singing, dancing embodiment of Catford’s cultural monument – ‘The Catford Cat’ - taking a staged nap, the audience are awake and entertained throughout.
Dick Whittington arrives on stage aboard the iconic, enormous and cleverly crafted cut out of the HMT Windrush. He starts looking for a job aided by Uncle Vincent, our brand-new panto bombshell star, magically formed out of the ship’s cat. Tossed to and fro between the charms of Fairy Bowbells (Lisa Davina Phillips) to the clutches of evil rat queen Vermina (Natasha Lewis), Whittington’s luck flips quickly from good to bad. He falls in love, loses everything, but is eventually cajoled back from the London outskirts by the musical bells of the city, singing his name. All ends well: it is a pantomime after all.
Along the way, we meet music hall inspired Sarah the Cook, giving risqué and raunchy humour that gives older audience members a cackle, hidden in nuanced double meaning from the younger kids. Almost everything lands in the show and its celebration of a multicultural London is both tasteful, uplifting and clearly hits all the right notes with the public.
When you struggle to pick a standout performer whilst reviewing, it becomes clear that the cast and ensemble are all doing their bit. Durone Stokes as Whittington packs a punch in his voice. Justin Brett is quick on his feet with a pun as Sarah the Cook, so watch out if you're in the front rows. Not to even mention Wayne Rollins, who swaggers across stage with energetic comedy, keeping the whole audience bobbing along in song or crying with tears of laughter. It was also incredibly rare to see the ensemble that supported all the lead performers miss a beat or note.
This panto is something rare to find nowadays. It really has a beating heart and is an inspired memorial for everything Windrush. It's much more than just dazzling costumes, smart dances and blasting songs, soon showing itself as a celebration of all things South London.
At 23 years old, without children of my own, I’m by no means your regular pantomime goer. But it was regular for all the audience to be united in participation or song. In fact, the elders were just as excited and amused as the kids they brought. It's a show that will gear you up for any festivity and certainly will do for Christmas.
Box Office: boxoffice@broadwaytheatre.org.uk
Photography: Mark Senior
Reviewed by Harry Speirs
Find everything you need to know or their free digital programme here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iksgVdE_CCHntoAnB4ZQUJwauBaNE1sx/view
