Filth and frivolity - Saturday afternoon at the London Palladium

This is slightly convoluted but bear with me.

This time last year we were due to see ‘Dick Whittington’ starring Julian Clary at the London Palladium.

The production got great reviews but we couldn’t go because there was a mix up over dates and instead of going to the Palladium as planned we had to take our daughter to Gatwick to catch a flight to America.

Instead we gave our tickets to my godson, a budding actor and writer.

This year, in what I can only describe as a remarkable coincidence, my godson played the title role in ‘Dick Whittington’ alongside former EastEnders actor Todd Carty in Middlesbrough.

Meanwhile, back in London, we finally made it to the Palladium where we saw ‘Snow White’ starring ... Julian Clary.

I won’t tell you how much I paid for the tickets (it was a small fortune) but coming out of the theatre yesterday afternoon we didn’t begrudge a penny. Stellar cast, fantastic staging, enormous fun.

Not convinced? I don’t blame you. I’m generally not a huge fan of pantomime either but suspend disbelief for one moment and read what one American critic thought of the show:

This British holiday tradition kicks America’s Yuletide ass (New York Post).

As for my godson, following his appearance in ‘Dick Whittington’ at the Middlesbrough Theatre, he has returned to London to work on a musical for which he has co-written the book and lyrics.

Inspired by the Cereal Killer Café and the Shoreditch riots of 2015, ‘The Cereal Cafe’ has a short workshop run at The Other Palace in London next month. For details click here.

Then again, if you’re more interested in filth and innuendo, there’s always ...