hristmas might be cancelled, but they can’t take away our pantomimes. Or not the National Theatre’s at least, which is offering up its second ever panto online – free of charge even though it has only just launched its paid-for streaming service. It is a generous, feelgood gesture, perfectly suited to this can-do story about a man and his street-smart cat. An updated revival of Jude Christian and Cariad Lloyd’s song-filled show, which premiered at the Lyric Hammersmith in 2018, it takes some sideways glances at the pandemic and fires the odd broadside, but does not get too bogged down by the depressing realities. Instead, there is smut, hope and a sometimes blinding optimism in its portrait of contemporary London. Filmed live at the National before closure, this is a clean, high-concept panto, niftily directed by Ned Bennett and performed in the round. The stage is mostly bare, but lit up by luminescent lighting with props occasionally emerging out of the ground, while the costumes, choreography and lighting design have the psychedelic colour scheme and aesthetics of a pop video. The stripped-down modernity slightly diminishes its anarchic spirit, but it never stops being imaginative or eye-catching. Dick (Lawrence Hodgson-Mullings) is a bright-eyed lad from Leeds whose burly bear of a cat (Cleve September) speaks in urban slang (“Yo London!”) . He and his love interest, Alice (Georgina Onuorah) are so squeaky-clean that they verge on the bland; the real stars of this panto are its naughtier creations, namely its arch-villain, Queen Rat (Amy Booth-Steel), who has the look of a goth and all the best lines. There is also the saucy dame, Sarah Fitzwarren, who is perfectly cast in Dickie Beau and is this show’s Wife of Bath. Beau delivers his character’s lasciviousness louchely, with no exaggerated archness. But despite the racy puns, dick jokes and double entendres, this feels like a show for children in its essence, relentlessly bright-eyed, good-natured and never dropping its smile. It is, in some ways, a paean to the capital city that feels slightly too bright in the current climate. We hear how “Londoners look out for each other…” “We march for justice.” “It’s the greatest city in the world.” It is a warm, uplifting vision, but feels radically at odds with the social realities and atomisations of the pandemic. Its humour takes in some of the topical issues, from Brexit and the Kent border to election controversies. Dick tells us: “I have travelled across hills, valleys and at least three tiers,” and an outraged Queen Rat insists: “I won by A LOT” after losing the mayoral race. One song captures the government’s mixed messaging over quarantine, and there are references to Barnard Castle, but it is all a little too gentle and we wish for satire a good few degrees sharper. The biggest discombobulation, though, comes in moments when the pantomime embroils the live audience into its entertainment. We – the second audience – become observers of their fun and repartee rather than the participants we would wish to be. There are many catchy pop covers (the Pogues, the Eurythmics, Rihanna) and vocally the cast is strong. But this only adds to the effect of watching a rock concert on television afterwards, rather than experiencing a live performance in the moment. Where pantomime demands a certain physicality from its audience – chanting, barracking, clapping – the drama here remains at a remove and feels lesser for it, through no fault of its artistry. We need to be in the room, joining in with the boo-hiss revelries rather than having our noses pressed up against the screen. Dick Whittington is available online until 27 December and at the National Theatre from early January.