Edward Rowe returns to Truro as Dick Whittington panto cast revealed

Cornwall Playhouse has confirmed who is coming to Truro for Christmas, and it is a mix of old friends and new arrivals. Edward Rowe is back in a frock, a West End and Broadway regular is playing the villain, and a Norwegian Cruise Line veteran is making his panto debut in the title role.

Hall for Cornwall has announced the principal cast for this year’s festive family show, Dick Whittington & His Mousehole Cat, running at the Cornwall Playhouse in Truro from Friday 4 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027. Cornwall Playhouse Productions, the venue’s own producing arm, is calling it the South West’s biggest homegrown pantomime. Following Jack and the Beanstalk and Aladdin, it brings back much of the writing and directing team behind those two shows.

A Dame Truro already knows

Edward Rowe once again pulls on the bloomers, this time as Wednesday Whittington, a formidable Cornish businesswoman with a rat-catching empire and her sights set on London. It is his second year in the Dame’s shoes at the Cornwall Playhouse after playing Widow Twerkey in last year’s Aladdin, and he continues co-writing the show with Richard Healey, a partnership Hall for Cornwall says is fast becoming a festive favourite in Truro. Off stage, Rowe is known nationally for the BAFTA-winning film Bait and locally as Kernow King, and he was made a Cornish Bard of Gorsedh Kernow in 2015.

📷Joe Watkins

Joe Watkins takes the title role

London-born Joe Watkins plays Dick Whittington, the unlikely hero at the heart of the story, setting sail alongside his trusty companion Mousehole. Watkins trained in musical theatre and has recently worked as a rehearsal swing on Norwegian Cruise Line’s The Choir of Man, before playing Hank Majewski in Jersey Boys.

📷Gareth Cooper

Gareth Cooper is back as Mousehole

Gareth Cooper returns as Dick’s companion, Mousehole the cat, for his third Cornwall Playhouse Christmas season after Jack and the Beanstalk and Aladdin. The Cornish actor, musician and writer has also just finished playing the Postmaster General in Caroline, A New Musical, and spent the summer touring Cornwall with his own folk storytelling show, The Devil’s in the Folktale.

📷Sara Markland

Sara Markland returns as Felicity Fitzwarren

Sara Markland is back too, having played Tinker Bell in Peter Pan and a gleefully wicked Aberzennor in last year’s Aladdin. Trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, her stage credits run from the Royal Shakespeare Company to the West End, and she also tutors at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

📷Bekah Selina

Bekah Selina joins as Alice Fitzwarren

Bekah Selina, trained at Trinity Laban, plays Alice Fitzwarren. Her credits include TINA: The Rock Legend on its European tour, Puss in Boots at Theatre Royal Winchester, and a Side Show concert at the London Palladium.

📷Ellie Leah

Ellie Leah plays the no-good Queen Rat

Completing the principal cast is Ellie Leah as Queen Rat, making her third appearance for Cornwall Playhouse Productions after Cinderella and Treasure Island. Her wider career takes in Sister Act on the West End and Broadway, Nell Gwynn at Shakespeare’s Globe, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Calendar Girls the Musical and Mamma Mia!

The team behind the curtain

Nick Evans directs, with Richard Healey and Edward Rowe writing and Jevan Howard-Jones choreographing, reuniting the award-nominated creative team behind last year’s Aladdin.

Julien Boast, Hall for Cornwall’s chief executive and executive producer, said the cast blends familiar faces with new talent. “Rooted in Cornwall and packed with laughter, heart, and panto magic, Dick Whittington & His Mousehole Cat is shaping up to be a festive adventure full of fun, surprises, and Christmas cheer for the whole family,” he said.

Dates and tickets

Dick Whittington & His Mousehole Cat runs at the Cornwall Playhouse from Friday 4 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027. Tickets are on sale now via hallforcornwall.co.uk or the box office on 01872 262466.

📷Edward Rowe. Credit: Hugh Hasting