Aladdin

As the temperature begins to rise, the blossom appears on the trees and the Daffodils are in full bloom… it means it’s Lavender Hill Mob Panto time!!!! As they are the last of the local amateur group’s still using the Corn Exchange, it makes a nice change to be in the larger of King’s Lynn’s performing venues. With yet another massive question mark over the Arts Centre, I can’t help but wonder where do we go next, but none of that mattered as I took my seat for this most uplifting seasonal ritual.

As soon as the mighty red curtain rose majestically, I was once again impressed by the colour and scale of the amazing backcloths (Scenic Projects Ltd). They seemed to fill the stage without many other pieces of scenery and made this particular show flow with some speed. Lighting (Jason Elms) was excellent and sound (Tim Rock) was everything you would expect from a man of his talent. Costumes (Michelle Smith, Una Rock and Judy Bains) are always a talking point and this year’s selection were as good as ever. Choreography (Laura Farr, Zoe Adams and Alex Nadel) suited the vast number of bodies on stage and was effective without trying to be spectacular.

The chorus was another huge affair, with way too many to mention, but, as usual, everyone looked to know where they were going, and what to do when they got there and they sang and danced and, I would say, had a pretty good time!  I loved the “Stones” and their dance routine which was amongst the highlights and I was mightily impressed with the 4 members of the “Rat Pack” who gave a masterclass in acting without any script.  Richard Bass and Ford Bailey were on form as the Mummy’s and Dip, Dop, Ipp and Opp were handled well by George Templeman, Ford Bailey, Lauren Morano and Sheila Anderson.

In the supporting roles, there were nice cameos from Helen Fenton as Jade, Chantelle Booth as the Deputy Prime Minister and it was wonderful to see Josh Large taking on a little dialogue in the role of The Sultan of Beckaloowan. In addition there was some excellent work from Kacie Butler as Pong-Ping, Ellie Mae-Smith as Ping-Pong, Sophia Dawson as Mini-Pong and Sarah Newman as Mini-Ping. Together of course with Callum Elsdon-Bird as Ping and Matthew Smedmor as Pong … I am so glad to have got that lot out of the way! Another two young ladies who delivered outstanding performances were Rebecca Bush and Kerry Bensley as the two parrots, Twiglet and Pringle. They didn’t get many lines but delivered all that they had in fine style.  

In the more prominent roles, Emily Key was delightful as usual as beautiful Princess Crystal and Alana Gemmell combined a good characterisation with a nice singing voice to bring us the Genie of the Lamp. Tom Bains was all about and something of a late substitute I understand doing a stirling job as the dame, Soapy (“call me Bubbles, darling”) Bubbles. The comic lead was split this time between the wonderful Sophie Strudwick as Hans and newcomer Jordan Winn as William “Pop” Bubbles. Miss Strudwick has the most amazing singing voice and the songs she delivered were captivating. She also managed most of the big laughs with some visual comedy that compensated for the lack of gags in the script. Mr Winn was a joy to watch from his first entrance to his last exit and has a dynamic stage presence. He looked a little short of experience but was funny and likeable and has enormous potential for the future! One man who just seems to get better and better is Michael Miles. This time out he took the part of evil Abanazer and did not put a foot wrong. He was the very embodiment of despicable with complete confidence in his lines and moves and really added depth to the whole production.

Penultimate paragraph honours go to Alex Nadel as Aladdin but, they could have easily gone to Mr Miles, Miss Strudwick or Mr Winn. I award them to Miss Nadel because, aside from an outstanding characterisation and excellent singing voice, she was such a steady hand on the rudder. Calm at all times and she never tried to overpower anyone else’s performance. Again, she is new to me, and someone to keep a close eye on going forward.

As usual, my unreserved congratulations to Artistic Director, Les Miles and Musical Director, Tim Rock. A fantastic achievement and a really entertaining show. Mr Rock managed to create another raft of moving original songs the highlight of which (for me at least) was the Aladdin and Crystal love duet “Once In A Lifetime” which really choked me up. In truth, I cried quite a few times, mostly thanks to the additional signing undertaken by the characters. I would say that 75% of the total show was signed and that just makes the whole thing so emotional. Well done Lavender Hill Mob, it may have been warm and sunny outside, but in the Corn Exchange … it was Christmas for me.

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