Dick Whittington at the Bristol Hippodrome Review
Dick Whittington
Bristol Hippodrome
6 December 2014 to 4 January 2015
Reviewed by Sarah Hicks
Well the festive season is well and truly upon us and what better way to get into the spirit of things than a panto!
Arguably one of the best places in the South West to bring the family together is the Bristol Hippodrome. Steeped with over 100 years history the venue is really enchanting – and that’s before the lights even go down!
This year it’s the turn of the classic fairy tale – Dick Whittington. The whole rags to riches, Dick and his Cat and streets paved with gold storyline is fantastically performed.
Dick is played by the CBeebies very own Mr Bloom – otherwise known as Ben Faulkes – who has a massive following – not only from the generation that CBeebies is aimed at, but by the mum’s who enjoy his screen presence as well! Cast wise we’ve also got Britain’s Got Talent winners in Ashleigh and Pudsey, Brenda Edwards who was an xFactor finalist, the fabulous West Country comedian Andy Ford – who’s now in his 6th year in panto at the Hippodrome and the hugely talented Eric Potts who’s the brains behind the whole performance as the scriptwriter, but also plays Sarah the Cook.
I think I’ve got to mention the stage scenery – only one word – WOW – it was like an explosion in a glitter factory, absolutely magical from the very beginning, it made a wonderful setting for the storyline to play out. What did follow was laughs, singing, dancing and a love story that can only be from a pantomime!
Special mention has to go to Andy Ford – his character (Lazy Jack) really brings the whole show together – I understand completely why he’s been a fixture of the Bristol Hippodrome panto for the last 6 years, the gags didn’t stop (some were more cheesy than others!), the audience interaction was fantastic, and I think everyone wanted to take him home at the end of the show. The other character of which you can say the same would be Pudsey the dog! I don’t think he was there to upstage any of the humans but he definitely won the audience over with his performance in all the scenes he was involved in.
There were some wonderful sing-a-long opportunities, I particularly enjoyed “It’s All About That Bass, No Treble” but you need to have seen the music video to full appreciate the performance shall I say! There is also a 3D section which is certainly something I’ve never seen in a panto before – it was great, a real poke in the eye experience!
All in all, I really recommend seeing Dick Whittington at the Bristol Hippodrome – it’s fantastically festive, hugely funny and heart-warming – a real feel good family affair! My children at 5 and 7 years of age, loved it nearly as much as me! – lots of “LOL” moments as the young uns’ of today say!
It’s easily a 5/5 performance – please go and see for yourself, it running until the 4th January 2015.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £11.90 to £42.40 (plus £4 transaction fee).
Dick Whittington is at the Bristol Hippodrome until 4 January 2015. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0844 871 3012.
Bristol Hippodrome, St Augustine’s Parade, Bristol, BS1 4UZ | 0844 871 3012
