Corn Exchange Newbury has announced its cast for this year’s pantomime, Dick Whittington. Audiences will join Dick and his trusty cat on their quest to seek fame and fortune. As the dynamic duo journeys from Newburyshire to London, it soon becomes clear that perhaps everything is not what it seems. Corn Exchange Newbury promises to provide festive fun for the whole family in this phenomenal pantomime, packed with plenty of magic and chart-topping songs from across the decades.
The cast features Harry Potter film star Chris Rankin, who is best known for playing Percy Weasley in the Wizarding World franchise and will be performing as Alderman Fitzwarren. Starring in the role of Dick Whittington will be Kai Harris (West End Does Christmas 2023) with his trusty sidekick of a cat, Cosmo, played by Jade Johnson (The Book of Mormon, Prince of Wales Theatre). Jade returns to the Corn Exchange for her third Christmas after playing Fairy Common in last year’s production of Beauty and the Beast. Causing mischief and mayhem as the evil King Rat will be Alex Crandon, who has previously performed in Plested, Brown and Wilsher’s Cinderella at Salisbury Playhouse. Scott Riney will be playing the Dame to bring some classic Christmas fun to the stage.
Grace Kelly Miller will be investigating the chaos as Detective Fairy Bowbells and Shannon Bourne, who has recently performed in Becoming Nancy and the tour of Stranger Sings!, joins as Alice Fitzwarren. The ensemble features Jake Poolman, who has performed in Les Misérables and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Adam Craig (The Wizard of Oz West End) and Finna Hardy who makes her pantomime debut.
The show has been created by Plested Brown and Wilsher, which is made up of Clare Plested, Adam Brown (The Hobbit, Warner Brothers; Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tale No Tales, Disney), and Amanda Wilsher. Clare Plested is an acclaimed actress, writer, and comedian, and was shortlisted for the Funny Women Comedy Writing Awards in 2022. Newbury local Adam Brown is best known for playing Ori in The Hobbit and recently appeared alongside Sir Ian McKellen in Mother Goose at Theatre Royal, Brighton. Amanda Wilsher is a firm favourite for Newbury, as she has previously directed Jack and the Beanstalk in 2022 and Beauty and the Beast last year.
Joining them in the creative team are Miranda Wilford as Choreographer, Ben Barrow as Musical Director and Orchestrations, set and dame costume designs are by Mark Walters for Glitter Pantomimes with costume designs by Carl Davies. Completing the creative team are Vicky Allen as Lighting Designer and Nathan Smith as Sound Designer.
Plested Brown and Wilsher comments, We’re so excited for the people of Newburyshire to meet our fantastic panto cast this year! Returning to our stage is Newbury favourite Jade Johnson as Cosmo the Cat! Back flipping his way into our hearts is the flipping wonderful Kai Harris as Dick Whittington. You’ll scream with laughter at Dick’s mum, our super Dame, Scott Riney. Sensational singer Shannon Bourne will blow you away as the talented musician-wannabe Alice. You may recognise her very silly father Alderman Fitzwarren from some Harry Potter movies… Keeping us in order is the hilarious Grace Kelly Miller as Detective Fairy Bowbells. She’ll have her work cut out against the dastardly Percy Rat played villainously by the superb Alex Crandon. And there are no words to describe how brilliant our ensemble are – Finna Hardy, Jake Poolman and Adam Craig. We’re so lucky to have nabbed such incredible talent!
Corn Exchange Newbury’s Director Jessica Jhundoo-Evans comments, The pantomime is such a special time of year for everyone at the Corn Exchange. We are delighted to present Dick Whittington this year and look forward to welcoming thousands of people from our local community to see it as part of this much-loved festive tradition. Plested Brown and Wilsher always deliver a fun-packed, musical treat for us and I am sure they will have plenty of surprises up their sleeves as usual!
Following two successful annual appeals, the Corn Exchange Newbury have run their Panto Pay it Forwards appeal again this year, providing free pantomime tickets to those in the community who are most in need. The Corn Exchange Newbury believes passionately that cost should not be a barrier to experiencing the magic of pantomime. Their Panto Pay it Forwards appeal has been really well-received, making a positive difference in the community and providing a joyful cultural experience to those who would otherwise not be able to attend. Thanks to their supporters in 2023, the Corn Exchange Newbury were able to distribute 555 free tickets. 238 free tickets were given to school children in receipt of pupil premium funding from six local schools and 317 free tickets were provided to local community groups including West Berkshire Young Carers, Thatcham Family Hub, Citizen’s Advice, Eight Bells for Mental Health, Community Youth Project, Educafé, Fairclose Centre, Home Start Family Hub, Sensory Consortium, Hungerford Youth Centre, Two Saints and Audrey Needham House.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
