FOLLOWING the success of last year’s production of Cinderella, which won a UK Pantomime Award, Wiltshire Creative has announced full casting details for this year’s show: Dick Whittington.

Artistic director Gareth Machin will be directing Will Carey (Dick Whittington), Olivia Hewitt Jones (Alice Fitzwarren), Will Jennings (Percy Rat), Hugh Osbourne (Alderman Fitzwarren), David Rumelle (Sarah the Cook), Lindo Shinda (Cosmo), Natalie Winsor (Fairy Bowbells), Alisha Capon and Daniel Timoney.

This will be the 13th time that Dick Whittington has been staged at Salisbury Playhouse. The pantomime will run from November 25, 2023 to January 7, 2024 and features writing by Clare Plested, Adam Brown and Amanda Wilsher; who return to the playhouse for a second year.

Plested, Brown and Wilsher are a comedy writing team with over 20 years’ experience writing, directing and performing comedy theatre.

Theatre credits include Cinderella (Salisbury Playhouse), Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, Aladdin and Sleeping Beauty (Corn Exchange Newbury).

Supported by The Arts Council, the company had six acclaimed runs at the Edinburgh Festival, ten nationwide tours and toured internationally.

Their unique brand of comedy gathered an enthusiastic fan base with broad appeal, and their musical, The Perfect Wife, is currently in development with Debbie Isitt.

Will Carey will play Dick Whittington in this year’s pantomime at Salisbury Playhouse

Pantomime-lovers can join Dick Whittington and his cool cat Cosmo, on the journey from Salisburyshire to London, in search of fame and fortune.

In the big city, disaster strikes, and the streets aren’t paved with gold but overrun with rodents. Can Dick defeat Evil King Rat and save the city of London? Join us this Christmas to find out! Expect exciting escapades, dazzling dances, and sparkling songs from our live band, which will have you singing and dancing all the way home.

The pantomime is being sponsored by Howden, whose divisional director, David Willis, said: “As a business with a strong community focus, we are excited to be working with Wiltshire Creative to bring another year of award-winning pantomime to audiences in Salisbury.”

Other credits for the show include: designer: Zoe Squire; lighting designer: Nic Farman; choreographer: Khiley Williams; musical supervisor: Josh Sood; musical director: Ong Cheng Kan; sound designer: Michael Scott; casting director: Natalie Gallacher CDG; associate casting director: Richard Johnston.