Dick Whittington is a truly entertaining pantomime with comic brilliance, audience participation and non-stop energy from the cast.

CBeebies and pantomime legend Chris Jarvis is back, sprinkling his magic as the hilarious Dame Dolly Doughnuts.  The creative storyline is easy for kids to follow and you’ll find lots of funny references to Poole throughout the show.

The story goes that Dick travels to London to find his fortune and the first friend he makes is Tommy the Cat who stays by his side and delivers some awesome gymnastics on stage.  Dick then meets the lovely Alice Fitzwarren and instantly falls in love.

Dick needs money so Alice tries to get him a job in her dads shop but they need to buy more chocolate to sell and they only have a bar of gold to use as money.  Dick is supposed to be watching the gold in the safe but King Rat steals it and tricks everyone into thinking that Dick took it.  When the family find out they send Dick on his way but it doesn’t take long for them to realise it was all an elaborate set up and so they make up and start their travel to Poole so they can purchase the chocolate.

After the interval, the crew are on a big ship travelling to the Isle of Wight and King Rat is trying to sink it!  Luckily, Fairy Bowbelles is on their side and she helps save the day.  I wish the Fairy had been on stage more though because her incredible voice gave me goosebumps.

The cast are clearly having a lot of fun in this panto and there was never a dull moment.  All of the actors were exceptional and of course the young rats and dancers were brilliant too.  We laughed so much throughout the show and when it ended my daughter just looked at me confused because she hadn’t realised how much time had passed.  Time really does fly when you’re having fun!  We both left the theatre absolutely buzzing, it's most definitely one of the best pantos I've ever seen.

Dick Whittington is running from Thursday 11th December 2025 - Sunday 4th January 2026.  A relaxed performance is on Friday 2 January 2026 at 6pm.

For more information and tickets, please visit Lighthouse Poole.

Image credit: Jayne Jackson Photography

Dorsetmums was invited to the performance for the purpose of a review however all words ae my own.

Cinderella has everything you’d expect to see in a 5-Star Panto – stunning set designs, sparkly costumes, outrageous dames, flawless choreography, beautiful vocals, and of course plenty of audience participation.

The cast is brilliant but Buttons, played by Noel Brodie is our favourite, he always steals the show with his incredible wit and ability to improvise and captivate the audience.  The Fairy Godmother is played by Melanie Walters (Gwen from Gavin & Stacey), Cinderella is played by Olivia Birchenough (Milkshake presenter), West End leading man Jack Wilcox stars as the dashing Prince Charming, David Zachary is Dandini and Craig Berry is Baron Hard-Up.  Adding to the chaos are the talented Jamie Morris and Tarot Joseph, two of the country’s most experienced and funny dames.  All of the cast were captivating and the dancers were perfect, especially the younger ones who didn’t miss a single step.

The story begins with kind and caring Cinderella who discovers that her father has attended ‘impulsive classes’ and remarried which results in her being stuck with 2 cruel stepsisters.  Cinderella unknowingly meets the Prince who then holds a ball at the Palace to find his Princess but the stepsisters decide she is not worthy of attending and make Cinderella her rip up her invite.

Everything changes when her glittering Fairy Godmother appears and with a wave of her wand she magically brings a sparkly carriage drawn by 2 miniature horses to life on stage.  With Cinderella now in her stunning gown she attends the ball to dance with the Prince, but the clock ticking and at midnight she needs to run!  Does the Prince find the owner of the glass slipper?  Of course he does, and it’s a joyful ending for everyone.

We had so many favourite scenes but I loved the night of the ball where they quickly switched between songs to speed up the night, and the dames costumes were just bonkers!  Any parent will have heard the words 6 – 7 and the kids went crazy when Buttons said it every time.  My daughter however nearly died with embarrassment when we all had to sing the Italian Brainrot song haha.  She knew every word but hid in her jumper because it's 'so cringe' haha.

Cinderella was brilliant from start to finish and the theatre is super sparkly to get you in the mood.  We had such a lovely afternoon, I can’t recommend it enough.

Cinderella is on at the Bournemouth Pavilion from Saturday 6th December 2025 to Sunday 4th January 2026.  A relaxed performance will be held on Tuesday 16th December 2025.  This is open to everyone and great for those who prefer a gentler panto experience.

For more information and tickets, please visit the Bournemouth Pavilion.

Dorsetmums was invited to attend the opening of Cinderella with the purpose of writing a review however all words are my own.