Dick Whittington Familiarisation Pack 2023-2024

Dick Whittington HarrogateTheatre 2023-2024

This is Harrogate Theatre.

Harrogate Theatre This what the main entrance looks like.

This is another entrance you can use if you require level access to your seat.

It’s at the back of the theatre.

This is what is on stage at the beginning of the performance. This is the view from the stalls.

Harrogate Theatre

Your tickets will say whether you are sitting in the stalls, circle, balcony, or the boxes.

The boxes, are on the same level as the circle.

There are toilets on the circle and stalls levels, and an accessible toilet next to the stalls.

Balcony

Circle

Stalls

Dick Whittington

Our pantomime follows the tale of a young man on an adventure to seek his fortune in London.

The Story and Characters While Dick Whittington is travelling to London, he meets Tammy the Cat who is a faithful companion.

London is over-run with rats under the leadership of evil King Rat! A good fairy called Fairy Bowbells makes sure that King Rat doesn’t cause too much trouble.

Dick Whittington The Story and Characters

King Rat is secretly searching for some lost treasure and a magic sword which will mean he can have more magic powers!

Dick Whittington The Story and Characters With the help of Idle Jack, Sarah the Cook and Alice Fitzwarren, Dick and Tammy find the long-lost treasure, but will they get to the sword before King Rat?

Dick Whittington – Our Cast Shannon Rewcroft plays Fairy Bowbells

Dick Whittington – Our Cast Naail Ishaq plays Dick Whittington

Dick Whittington – Our Cast Anna Campkin plays Tammy the Cat

Dick Whittington – Our Cast Faye Weerasinghe plays Alice Witzwarren

Dick Whittington – Our Cast Michael Lambourne plays King Rat

Dick Whittington – Our Cast

Harry Wyatt plays Sarah the Cook

Dick Whittington – Our Cast

Tim Stedman plays Idle Jack

Dick Whittington

Zach Atkinson

Our pantomime cast is made of 7 actors, 2 understudies and 4 dancers.

Rachel Stockdale

Understudy actors are ready to perform if any of the principal actors are poorly. Our understudy actors are called Zach and Rachel. We will put up signs around the theatre if we expect that they will be performing.

Pantomimes are meant to be fun, magical and colourful. There will be lots of music, singing and dancing too.

Dick Whittington What happens at a pantomime?

The actors expect audiences to join in – you can clap, cheer, 'boo’ King Rat and join in with singing!

You might need to shout “Oh yes it is”, “Oh no it isn’t” and “It’s behind you!”

The actors will teach you phrases you can say and songs you can sing too.

Sometimes the actors throw things into the audience – these are never heavy things or things that will hurt anyone.

Songs Near the end of the performance, Idle Jack and Tammy the Cat will teach you this song.

This is sung to the tune for ‘Dance Monkey’.

They say dance Tammy, dance Tammy, dance Tammy oh-oh-oh I've never seen anybody do the things you do before!

They say move for me, move for me, move for me ay-ay-ay and when you're done, I'll make you do it all again!

If you are coming to a relaxed performance, the theatre staff make some changes to parts of the show. This is so everyone can feel comfortable. The actors don’t change what they perform. The story, lines and songs are the same.

Dick Whittington Relaxed performances

We make some changes to the sound and lighting. This is so that it isn’t too loud or bright for anyone who might find it overstimulating.

The audience lights in the auditorium will dim but stay on through the performance. This is so you can move around safely.

Any loud bangs and flashes are removed from the performance. This is so everyone feels safe.

If you need support during a performance, please speak to a member of theatre staff. We all wear black clothes with the Harrogate Theatre logo or lanyard on.

If you need a break from the auditorium, you can use one of our quiet spaces. These spaces are in our circle and stalls bars.

Dick Whittington Relaxed performances There will be calming activities, like colouring, available. There is a TV so you can watch a live stream of the performance. This can also be turned off.

The pantomime is performed in two sections –

Dick Whittington More Information

Aladdin

Act one is approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes There will be a 15-minute interval in the middle Act two is approximately 1 hour The total running time is around 2.5 hours.

In the interval there will be ice creams for sale, please speak to one of the theatre’s staff if you need support to buy one.

After the performance it might take a little while for the audience to leave. If you have specific access requirements, please speak to a member of Theatre staff so they can make appropriate arrangements for you.

If you have any questions about the pantomime, cast or what to expect please email info@harrogatetheatre.co.uk