Arts > Theatre

Robin Good - Pantomime

Norwich Theatre Playhouse

13/12/21

Pantomime season is upon us (oh yes it is...), and Norwich has an extra treat to unwrap this year in the form of Robin Good. Billed as a 'politico-panto', but really a 90 minute romp of wry non-stop gags from the aserbic pen of James McDermott, Robin Good becomes a delightful, if slightly tongue-in-cheek, view of the modern world as viewed from the perspective of us Norfolk Wokels.
 
Our hero is Robin Good (played by Richard Upton), a social media-hungry wannabe who returns from London with little more than the latest i-Phone to show for it. His father (Mike Lloyd) still runs the BrewHaha cafe in Norwich, but has become drag queen Dame Stratton Strawless and has ambitious plans to turn the cafe into a 'bigger and better Byfords'.

 
The villain of the piece is Barry, Sheriff of Norwich (Will Arundell) who is about to be re-elected, unopposed, on a ticket of relocating the poor to Suffolk and turning Norfolk into a millionaire's second-home paradise. But, when Robin swipes right and meets socialist and direct activist Marion (Aveen Biddle) on Tinder, the blue-touch paper of love is ignited, sparks begin to fly and their Band of Merry Non-Binaries begin their mission to force an election and thwart the Sheriff's vile plan.
 
Robin Good is directed with lashings of local references and a bundle of in-jokes that will delight Norwich audiences – poking fun at our parochiality, our poor public transport links, and our patchy mobile phone reception. The comedy runs very much in the vein of The Common Lot's history-based dramas '1549: The Story of Kett's Rebellion' and, more recently, 'Come Yew In!' (McDermott was in the writing team for the latter), but this show is based fimly in the present, and essentially becomes a morality tale where happiness proves more important than riches, friendship and true love trump any number of social media 'likes', and democracy triumphs over despotism and corruption.
 
The multi-talented cast also play all instruments on stage, peeling away from centre stage to take on everything from drums and accordion to guitars and piano, saxophone, trombone, and even a penny whistle. We join in with the songs – I still find myself singing along to 'Stratton Strawless had a caff, V-E-G-A-N' as I walk back along St George's Street at the end of the evening. There is the compulsory slice of pantomime slapstick, delivered in the form of The Great Stratton Strawless Bake-Off, and plenty of opportunities for the enthusiastic audience to make themselves heard throughout.
 
I don't want to give the plot away completely, but needless to say true love wins all the way, and good triumphs over evil, as it always should – and not just in panto-land.
 
Robin Good continues at Norwich Theatre Playhouse until December 19th.