Aladdin

Aladdin is one of my favourite pantomimes and this production certainly lived up to my expectations! It was colourful and full of great all round family entertainment. The director, Kev Aitken has done a wonderful job in bringing Aladdin to the stage; it had a good pace throughout and was very well structured. Barbara Hockey, the musical director, has again worked her magic on this production with wonderful song choices, awesome singing and a very talented three - piece band that provided great backing for the entire show. Marcia Mitchell’s choreography was fantastic as it was full of energy and variety and showcased some very talented dancers. Well done Kev, Barbara and Marcia!

The eleven principals all gave excellent performances and created some wonderful characters. Daniel Fortune in the title role of Aladdin was very sincere, had a wonderful voice and interacted well with the other actors. Susan Hackett brought lots of humour and fun to her role as Wishee Washee. Adrian West-Tooms was a very confident Widow Twankey and succeeded in creating his own style for the role. Katie-Rose Parker was outstanding as the Spirit of the Ring she had a clear fast-paced delivery and an awesome voice. The Genie of the Lamp was played by Duncan Balcon, who had an imposing stature, an amazing voice and brought lots of humour to the role. Ellie McAspurn was a beautiful Princess Mandarin and had a beautiful voice to match, giving a mature performance which was way beyond her fourteen years. Kevin Maltby also gave an outstanding performance as Abanazar - he had a wonderful voice, was very imposing and worked the audience very well. So-Shy was beautifully played by Bianca Harker she too had a lovely voice and gave a sincere performance. Wong and Pong were brilliantly played by Janet Askew and Terry West - they had great comic timing and provided lots of laughs throughout the show and these were two performances that I enjoyed very much. The Empress was very well played by Janis A Young who was demure and interacted well with all the action. The principals were ably assisted by a great ensemble and troupe of dancers and an absolutely delightful troupe of junior dancers. Well done to you all!

The pantomime sported an excellent set that was very well managed. The magic carpet was awesome! The props were all well-made and utilised. The costumes were all very good and colourful. The make-up was good, especially the character make-up. The lighting and sound quality was very good throughout the show.

Congratulations to everyone both on and off the stage for this wonderful production that provided excellent entertainment for your audience.

CAROLINE JERVIS                                                                                                                                     NODA EAST MIDLANDS DISTRICT 7 REPRESENTATIVE.   

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