Claire Burlington

Rick Dittington

by Claire Burlington

Pinewood Theatre, Wokingham

December 2006

This was an unusual and lovely commission which came up as a result of Aladdin at Pleasance Islington. The University of the Third Age (U3A) is a charity which is run by and for people who have retired from full-time employment. They run clubs, classes and events covering absolutely every interest and discipline under the sun, from poker to Portuguese. The Wokingham U3A wanted to do a pantomime and they asked me to write one. So I did.

The show was created collaboratively – I was told how many people would like to be involved as leads and smaller roles and what particular skills were waiting to be shown off, and I started thinking. Then the company came up with character and plot ideas and, using these as a basis, I produced a script.

The story goes something like this: on his retirement, Rick Dittington leaves the bright lights of London for an adventure in the mysterious town of Wokingham. Having befriended a talking cat en route (and encountered enthusiastic twitchers, a militia of needlework experts, beer-swilling computer boffins, tap-dancing belles and the Queen) he uncovers a dastardly plot to turn all of Wokingham into a car park. Luckily, with the help of the cat  – and the U3A -  Rick thwarts the evil town planner and also manages to find enlightenment and true love.

The show was performed by a cast aged 70-90 and the night I saw was an absolute riot! It was utterly exuberant with fantastic performances and superb singing – and the baddie having his script stashed in his handbag added another level of hilarity to the proceedings.