Aladdin

This was a truly local panto with a script by two of the club members (who were also the directors) full of references to local characters, places and events. Aladdin played by Matthew Bruce gave a good strong performance despite suffering from laryngitis. Miranda Andrews made a beautiful Princess Jasmin with a good singing voice. Colin Jones was imposingly evil as Abanazar, eliciting much booing from the audience. Paula Milne as the Genie of the Lamp was a strong character with a strong voice showed to its best in her rendition of “Friend Like Me”. Young Erin Duncan made a delightful Genie of the Ring. Linda Hector and Sandra Bain, as Sergeant Ping and PC Pong respectively, were a wonderful comic pairing who had the audience hooting with laughter at every appearance. The star of the show without a doubt was Stuart McMain’s Widow Twankey as she took to the stage in a series of outrageous dresses - strutting her stuff to numbers such as “Big Spender” and the Bay City Rollers “Bye Bye Baby” and interacting cheekily with the audience. Strong support was given by Josh Clayton (Wishee Washee), Alex Busch (The Emperor), Barbara Paterson (Sweet Honey), Rachel Sansom (Wishee’s feline pet) and Fiona Jones (a fleeting, visiting Doctor Who). The chorus singing and dancing throughout was very good but especially in the rockin’ Christmas Medley finale. Stuart Duncan and his 5 piece band gave good support throughout but were never too obtrusive. Costuming was colourful and appropriate for all the characters. The set too was bright, even managing to fit a full laundry of washing machine, tumble drier and wringer on to the small stage, and the lighting added much to the atmosphere. Congratulations to all at Culter Theatre Group for an excellent evening’s entertainment.

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