Aladdin

Once again SPADS have presented a fun Pantomime with bags of enthusiasm, smiling faces and great musical numbers, not to mention a well chosen cast. 

Kanyin Jolaosho as the evil Abanazar set the atmosphere in the prologue and I was so pleased to witness how much more confident this actor had become. 

Aliyah Ahmed was well cast as Princess Jasmine and her vocals matched perfectly with the young Noah Clarke as the love struck Aladdin. 

Jordan Clarke as Ping and Ylana Schafer as Pong, the two silly policemen, worked extremely hard throughout the production. They were lively, bouncy and the children in the audience loved them.

Dishee, Aladdin’s silly brother, was played expertly by Josh Clarke. The stage lit up even brighter every time he appeared and one wished there was someone for him to fall in love with. His rendition of Queen’s “Somebody to Love Me” was one of the highlights of the show. Here we had a Master Class in how to work your audience without them even realising it. Watch and learn all budding comedians.

Peter Wright, once again gave us his take on the traditional Panto Dame as Twankey. There is a very fine line between suggestive and over the mark. With careful direction and years of experience this line was never crossed and the warmth of his delivery made it easy to laugh at his characterisation. 

Genie of the Lamp, Georgiana Banner and Slave of the Ring Georgie Bateman made a great pairing. Character work was good and vocals from both were well balanced. They worked well together and there was an obvious camaraderie between the pair.

Alan Reilly played the Emperor with fatherly concern, once again lending his vast knowledge and experience to the relatively young cast.

Musical numbers, under the competent direction of Andrew Hardy, were carefully chosen and the opening number, Robbie Williams’ “Let Me Entertain You” was a great start to the performance and the community number “Shark Shark” was up to date and everyone could join in. I loved it !!!

The Chorus Ensemble worked very hard and sang and danced with bags of enthusiasm. The smiling faces throughout gave a joyous impact from the stage and this was infectious all over the auditorium. 

Costumes were bright and colourful and for the ladies chorus most appropriate. 

Staging was good and lighting appropriate to the different scenes. The cave might have benefited from a few clusters of coloured lights depicting jewels but the chorus costumes did give the impression of rubies and emeralds etc. 

Once again, SPADS hit the button on the mark. The magic lamp conjured up a great show which I know both cast and audience enjoyed.

Thank you for your hospitality and look forward to seeing you again soon.

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