The Legend of Moby Dick Whittington, Sleeping Trees (online) - ★★★★★ - Until January 5, 2021


This Christmas, perhaps more than any other, we may well need big helpings of silliness to get us through, and The Legend of Moby Dick Whittington provides endless absurdity and nonsense. Kerry Frampton directs with anarchic aplomb and brings us a mashup of characters focussing on Dick Whittington, his cat and the rats who bump into Moby Dick and 'Doctor' Ahab – now a marine biologist. John Woodburn, James Dunnell-Smith and Joshua George Smith perform tremendously well as a team. Their jokes and clowning will certainly entertain small children who are encouraged to join in the songs and dances, and even build their own whale! There is, however, most definitely enough wit to keep accompanying adults constantly smiling; clever wordplay naturally abounds such as naming their vessel "The Companion Ship." We particularly enjoyed Pinocchio being "puppetually annoying". The joke involving the naming of a certain coffee shop chain after a Moby Dick character provides a nice running gag. Creating a stormy shipwreck in a living room is not easy but it definitely works. The editing is terrific and makes us believe there is a cast of thousands, well dozens, as the guys jump from character to character. In a year when live pantomimes will be in short supply, The Sleeping Trees company brings us a smashing entertainment which is never too childish and will give you and your family a whale of a time.

Rated: ★★★★★

Reviewed by D.S.J.
Photo © Sleeping Trees

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