The stunning New Wimbledon Theatre was packed with the “great and good” of the pantomime world last night to present awards for the best performances of the 2017 festive season with Richard David-Caine, who starred in Worthing’s fantastic production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, picking up the award for Best Supporting Male.
As I said in my review (published on December 8th 2017)… In what can only be described as a show-stealing performance, Richard David-Caine is just incredible as the wonderfully camp Herman the (German) Henchman. With an accent that owes much to Allo Allo!, he delivers a succession of one-liners (many of which are not part of the script) and, in the traditional “messy kitchen” scene he, together with Dolly and Muddles, brings the house down. He is a master of the comic art who, with just a small gesture, or pursed lips, or a raised eyebrow manages to have the entire audience in stitches – even though the younger ones probably have no idea why they are laughing!
As many will know, towards the end of the pantomime run, Richard was seriously injured during the kitchen scene and, even today, is still feeling the effects. So, as well as congratulations, we wish him well with his on- going recovery.
In another local success Twist and Pulse (aka Glen Murphy and Ashley Glazebrooke) won the award for Best Choreography for their work on Jack and the Beanstalk at the Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage. That pantomime, like many others around the country, was produced by Eastbourne’s Jordan Productions, the team behind the massively successful Devonshire Park Theatre’s annual pantomime.
The biggest winner at the ceremony, hosted by the irrepressible Christopher Biggins, was the London Palladium’s Olivier Award winning production of Dick Whittington. It won a total of five awards awards; Best Special Effects (The Flying London Bus), Leading Male (Charlie Stemp – who is currently starring in Hello Dolly on Broadway), Pantomime of the Year (1500+ seats), Best Script (Alan McHugh and David McGillivray) and Best Female Baddie (Elaine Paige – Who sent a video message as she is currently touring the world).
Established by Sam Munday-Webb and Daniel Dawson in 2016, the Great British Pantomime Awards were introduced as a way to celebrate the genre, where judges travel across the UK to see over 200 pantomimes and nominate shows for best production values and performers.
The evening also featured performances from Twist and Pulse, Doreen Tipton, La Voix, Ronan Parke, Kieran and Sarah, Olivia Birchenough and, with an incredible performance of his self penned ditty, The Tube Song (in which he sings the names of all 270 London underground stations – from memory!) Gary Wilmot. We also saw the awarding of two lifetime achievement awards, one to Nick Thomas of pantomime stalwarts Qdos Productions and one to comedy legend and star of more than 30 pantomimes during his amazing career, Roy Hudd.
