Yshee Black Archives - thespyinthestalls.com

★★★★★

“panto not just with bells on but with real balls attached”

A member of the audience makes their way to the stage. As he enters the coffin, he is now in-role as the dead King of the fictional European country – Swedonia. And thus begins a wonderfully camp parody of heteronormative holiday rom-coms and a joyous queer love story. Written by and starring Linus Karp and Joseph Martin, as the romantic leads, this is one hell of a festive joyride.

The unmarried Swedonian Prince (beautifully played by Linus Karp) is in line to the throne and must tie the knot soon or he will forfeit his right to the crown. His many suitors, mostly male – who make cameo appearances on large multimedia screens – are all hilariously unsuitable for a whole host of reasons. Yet there is one particular suitor, Aaron Butcher, a baker living in New York who is still getting over his callous ex-boyfriend. Boo! Encouraged by ever the optimist – friend, fellow baker and puppet – Jenny Puppetson – Aaron is commissioned to bake a cake for the prince’s imminent wedding and travels to Swedonia.

‘The Fit Prince’ is produced by Awkward Productions and King’s Head Productions. The puppetry alone merits a visit to this all-round incredible show. A darker fairy-tale element and note of absurdity is introduced with the entrance of the incredible ‘Gerta McMurder – a disturbing-looking, life-size puppet who runs a local orphanage in Swedonia. She is masterly operated by Joseph Martin who delivers her lines in a pitch-perfect Scottish accent!

And then there are the pop songs! The original music is by Golden Globe nominated writer and producer, Leland. The pop duo BAAB (a parody of ABBA) belt out numbers like ‘The Loser Gets Nothing’ and ‘Movement King’ to the sheer delight of the audience.

‘The Fit Prince’ is big on audience participation. I did somewhat squirm when I initially heard about this. However, it was often the audience members who stole the show as they ad-libbed, improvised and gave a fresh and unrehearsed delivery of the lines that appeared on autocue. The multimedia guest stars who made digital cameo appearances also helped to give a sense of a much larger-scale production. Kate Butch (from RuPaul’s Drag Race UK) as Angel Merkel, Tove Lo as the Prime Minister of Swedonia and Geri Allen as the Queen of England added even more sparkle, chaos and high campery to the twists and turns of the turbo-charged plot.

There is so much to enjoy here – including the delightful and hilarious sexy shenanigans that transpire in the sauna scene between the prince and the baker! The glorious design and costumes (Stella Backman, Wez Maddocks and Zack Pinset) and the choreography (Sam Carlyle) transform the show to another level. This, ladies and gentlemen, is panto not just with bells on but with real balls attached. ‘Fit Prince’ may be unashamedly queer, camp, and highly theatrical yet there is an element of social and political commentary that hits just the right note without ever threatening to overshadow the joy and festive good cheer. As Aaron the baker asks Jenny Puppetson if she thinks a puppet can end fascism, she retorts: ‘This is theatre!’ Point taken – it’s our job to do that in a world increasingly governed by authoritarian regimes!

If there is one panto you should go see this Christmas, it’s this one. Best panto EVER! And I mean that. ‘Fit Prince’ fully deserved the standing ovation last night. I wish all the creatives and your good selves a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Dick Whittington

Phoenix Theatre

Reviewed – 12th December 2021

★★★★

“will get nearly anyone clapping and singing along with its glittery charm”

The tale of Dick Whittington and his cat is a Christmas classic with the future Lord Mayor of London’s valiant work of ridding the country of rats by way of his feline friend having delighted theatre-goers for hundreds of years. TuckShop, founded by Christopher D. Clegg and director of their new Christmas show, offers a new interpretation; one that dives headfirst into camp absurdity and is no stranger to a double entendre.

And what better story for a drag reimagining than one with a Dick and a Pussy (Cat) as its stars! The newly opened Dick Whittington at The Phoenix Theatre boasts an incredible cast familiar to any Drag Race fan.

Drag Race UK Season One favourite Cheryl Hole plays the titular role accompanied by Elektra Fence as her loyal feline Cat Slater (“with a C, because it’s different!”) in their mission to defeat the Rat King (Season Three alumnus Choriza May) who threatens to overrun Soho with her rodent minions. The duo meets all sorts of colourful characters on their quest, from Dame Sarah Can’t Cook Won’t Cook (Yshee Black) and her daughter (and inevitable love interest) Alice (River Medway) to the incredible Ophelia Love as ‘Ensemble Member No. 4’ who makes the most of her variety of small roles from safe to angry Yorkshireman.

Drag kings Richard Energy and the smooth-taking Beau Jangles play marital shop owner Daddy Fitzwarren and the Lord Mayor respectively, and the intoxicating Kitty Scott Clause guides the story chaotically along as the Spirit of Soho.

Hole is a wonderful lead and brings the most professionalism to the cast whilst Fence provides a great foil for Hole’s enthusiastic Dick (no pun intended) and keeps the audience engaged with regular call and response. May brings her signature flare to her villainous casting and dazzles in stunning neon green and black outfits and Kitty leaves both the audience and fellow cast mates in stitches at her absurd ad libs (including a Cilla Black impersonation).

Medway is not the most confident on stage, but it is no surprise as she understudies for Australian queen Karen From Finance who tested positive for Covid during the week. Given only two days to learn the script, Medway does surprisingly well and plays up to her lack of rehearsal time in the second half particularly to much laughter.

The audience is treated to a mix of live singing and lip syncs. Stand-out performances are delivered by Jangles with his swing version of Cardi B’s WAP and the outrageously filthy 12 Days of Christmas parody featuring bags of cocaine, dildos and leather whips led by Energy. The show, of course, could not miss the opportunity to host a lip sync for your life in true Ru Paul style and poke fun at Medway and May’s shock double-elimination in Season Three. Indeed, references to the UK series are abound and without at least a base knowledge of the show and each queen’s performance in their respective season, several jokes are lost.

The set is not particularly inspired – a basic backdrop of a London alley with post box – but the panto is limited by musical Come From Away playing on the same stage for much of the week. The set’s simplicity is most notable when the characters board a ship with only paper sailor hats to show their change of scenery, but this is played well for laughs.

More disappointing perhaps was the lighting which was often ill-used – many times, the speaker was shrouded in darkness, the spotlight on some other part of the stage entirely. The sound was also poorly executed at times. The soundtrack – both original songs and covers – is great but backing tracks boom over live singing with Kitty completely drowned out in her opening number as one example. However, as the show leans into its unpolished character, it is hard to be too upset about these oversights.

This new production of Dick Whittington is incredible fun and will get nearly anyone clapping and singing along with its glittery charm. For a night of drag ridiculousness this festive season, this is the show to see.

THE FIT PRINCE …

King’s Head Theatre

★★★★★

“panto not just with bells on but with real balls attached”

THE FIT PRINCE (WHO GETS SWITCHED ON THE SQUARE IN THE FROSTY CASTLE THE NIGHT BEFORE (INSERT PUBLIC HOLIDAY HERE))

Reviewed on 8th December 2025

by Tim Graves

Photography by Anna Clare

Most recent shows reviewed at this venue:

THE FIT PRINCE

THE FIT PRINCE

THE FIT PRINCE

Phoenix Theatre

Reviewed – 12th December 2021

★★★★

“will get nearly anyone clapping and singing along with its glittery charm”

And what better story for a drag reimagining than one with a Dick and a Pussy (Cat) as its stars! The newly opened Dick Whittington at The Phoenix Theatre boasts an incredible cast familiar to any Drag Race fan.

Drag kings Richard Energy and the smooth-taking Beau Jangles play marital shop owner Daddy Fitzwarren and the Lord Mayor respectively, and the intoxicating Kitty Scott Clause guides the story chaotically along as the Spirit of Soho.

This new production of Dick Whittington is incredible fun and will get nearly anyone clapping and singing along with its glittery charm. For a night of drag ridiculousness this festive season, this is the show to see.

Reviewed by Flora Doble

Photography by Corinne Cumming

Dick Whittington

Phoenix Theatre until 9th January

(Tuesdays and Sundays only)

Previously reviewed by Flora this year:

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