Behind The Magic: Toby Hulse on Oxford Playhouse’s Dick Whittington

Writer-director Toby Hulse has sprinkled Oxford Playhouse’s pantomime with 90s glitter: breakdancing rats, a bus that sings, and a big heart about being yourself. We spoke to him about re-writing a London legend for an Oxford audience.

Read our full five-star review here: https://migration.oxfordshireguardian.co.uk/review-dick-whittington-glitter-gags-and-britpop-bangers-at-the-oxford-playhouse/

Q&A

This year’s Oxford Playhouse pantomime is the charming story of Dick Whittington. Tell us a little bit about the tale for those who might be unfamiliar.

The original pantomime story is inspired by the life of a real person, Richard Whittington, who became the Lord Mayor of London three times over. Dick is an ordinary young man from Gloucester who travels to London with his cat to make his fortune, having been told that the streets are paved with gold. When he finds that this isn’t true, he nearly returns home, but hears the bells of London tolling ‘Turn again, Whittington’. After many further adventures, including a trip to Morocco, he and his cat rid London of a plague of rats. Through this Dick finds love, happiness, and riches, and becomes Lord Mayor.

You have said recently yourself that it wouldn’t be an Oxford Playhouse pantomime if we weren’t doing something a little bit wild! What’s different about this Dick Whittington and the characters we meet along the way?

We have kept all the main elements of the story, but thrown them up in the air, sprinkled them with glitter, and created an entirely new pantomime set in a weird and wonderful version of the 90s. Dick is now Dot, a trader from Gloucester Green Market, Oxford, lured to London by a fairy disguised as a cat, to help defeat the evil brothers Liam and Noel Rattagher. And that’s just the beginning of the silliness – expect, amongst other things, breakdancing rats, an all-singing all-dancing bus, a mop-wielding army training to Britney Spears, and the owner of a pie and mash shop aiming to be Lord Mayor.

One theme running through this pantomime is acceptance – choosing who you want to be and embracing that fully. Could you tell us a bit more about how this plays out in the story, and the journeys our characters take to reach that sense of self-acceptance?

Each of the main characters is in some way held back by tradition, and, for them to achieve their dreams, they have to assert themselves against what is expected of them by others. Running alongside this is the Rattagher brothers’ evil plan to make everything in the world uniform, identical, and bland. To defeat this, our heroes have to find out and express how they are different and unique. These are universal, human themes, and, although the world of our pantomime is a very daft one, the story has a lot to say about the challenges that we all face.

We loved the time-travelling journey to the 80s last year, and this year we’ve landed in the 90s. What is it that makes Dick Whittington such a good fit for the 90s setting, perhaps more so than other panto stories?

Dick Whittington is a pantomime that is very rooted in place, in particular London. The story also celebrates ordinary working people rising to the top, rather than princes and princesses. Both of these elements were very present in the 90s explosion of British music, loosely called Britpop. The traditional pantomime story also firmly believes that wishes can come true – a belief reflected in the rise of the TV talent show during the decade, starting with The X Factor. And there is an underlying message to the story that all that glitters is not gold – we should be wary of false promises, hype and spin. The 90s were the decade of the spin doctor, of the PR agency, and of the celebrity magazine.

The 1990s are known for some of the best pop bands and acts to date. As music is an integral part of pantomime, what can we look forward to on stage?

A little bit of everything that makes a 90s playlist such a treat – Oasis, Blur, Take That, East 17, Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, to name only a few. Every song is a surefire hit!

The Playhouse pantomime is known for referencing popular entertainment and generally the Oxford landscape. How do you keep things topical, and what can we expect this year?

The most obvious shift is that a story that traditionally begins in Gloucester now begins in Gloucester Green Street Market. This allows us to celebrate and make fun of everything that we love about Oxford and the surrounding area – as well as a few things that drive us up the wall! Many parts of the script aren’t completed until we are in rehearsal, so we are able to keep things up-to-date, and the cast will often add a few topical gags during the run itself.

What are the other crucial ingredients for a panto?

A gripping story, characters that we love (even the baddies), great singing and dancing, jokes and nonsense that are accessible to everyone regardless of age, and, of course, magic.

Much of your work is created especially for families and young audiences. As a playwright and director, what drew you to pantomime?

Christmas is one of the few times in the year that most theatres take work for families and young audiences seriously, and are prepared to invest time and money in it, and pantomime is the ultimate Christmas treat. A lot of my work is done with tiny budgets, and is deliberately small in size, so that we can take it into schools, libraries, village halls, and community centres. You can imagine how much fun it is to be given the resources of a full theatre, and what can be achieved on this larger scale.

What was your first experience with pantomime; do you think it’s influenced your own work? 

Interestingly, the first pantomime I remember seeing was Dick Whittington, at the Royal Exchange in Manchester, with children’s TV legend Derek Griffiths as King Rat. I still have vivid memories of him slinking through the audience, and visibly lapping up the boos. I must also mention Chris Harris, who I saw many times as the Dame in Bath and Bristol. The joyful exuberance with which he breathed new life into traditional routines, and his perfectly pitched sense of humour have been an enormous influence on me.

This is your fourth pantomime with The Playhouse. What has been the most memorable moment for you over that time?

Probably the first time that we tried the pre-show of Sleeping Beauty with a schools’ audience. We had set the theatre up as if it were an 80s Radio 1 roadshow, complete with DJs at a booth. To see something like 500 young people up on their feet dancing to The Communards at 10am in the morning, before the show had even started was truly extraordinary!

Earlier this year, Oxford Playhouse received a Special Recognition Award at the UK Panto Awards for its production, Sleeping Beauty. What do you think makes a Playhouse pantomime so special? 

The award was for Innovation, and I think that says it all. Whilst you will see all the traditional elements that you would expect in a pantomime, the shows that I have done with Oxford Playhouse strive to do things differently, in new and fresh ways. However, the single biggest factor I would point to is the audience. The Oxford audience is energetic, enthusiastic, a little bit rowdy, and definitely there in the theatre to have a good time. Without the audience, a Playhouse pantomime would not be what it is.

For some audiences, this might be their first time seeing a pantomime – do you have any advice for our newcomers?

If you are an adult, enter the theatre with the open mind of an excited child. Pantomime is unique and filled with weird and wonderful traditions, but it is in no way exclusive. Buckle up and enjoy the ride! And, if you are a child, prepare yourself for many years of loving live entertainment – there is absolutely nothing like it.

Dick Whittington marks Toby’s fourth pantomime at the theatre – he was the creator of last year’s award-winning Sleeping Beauty.

The Oxford Playhouse pantomime, Dick Whittington, runs until Sunday, January 4, 2026. Book tickets at www.oxfordplayhouse.com or via Box Office on 01865 305305.