Aladdin

What a pleasure it was to be able to join CADS to celebrate their 30th Panto.  CADS has a good reputation in the local area and it was nice to see you embrace and pay homage, to the past 30 years in the programme.  What a lovely idea it was to bring back Joel Fry, celebrity previous member, for a voice over role and to incorporate the opening song from that first panto in this latest one.

The production opened with an interesting dance number, set to the music from Tales of the Unexpected.  Presumably, a throwback to CADS 1990 Aladdin, this was a nice touch that visually tried to recreate the opening sequence to the TV Series.  Unfortunately, it seemed like the dancers were not really aware of what the end result should look like, possibly as many of them were not even born when the series ended in 1988, and the overall result didn’t quite work, but a nice touch none the less.

The lighting and the sound were under the control of John Cloke and Richard Boxell.  Both did a lovely job and the quality of both was of a good standard.  There were some sound issues but these were not due to the sound operator and will be mentioned later.  The overall sound was clear and well managed through a mix of stage mics and head mics, however at one-point Window Twankey’s head mic (actual mic itself) was so large you couldn’t see his/her face!  Before the production started, there was a stunning display from the lighting desk that filled the hall with thousands of coloured dots.  This was a real WOW effect and beautifully started the panto in style.

As always, with a CADS production, the audience were treated to a live band.  This is a lovely extra to the pantomime and it’s great that the band are treated as members of the production, rather than just being there for the songs.  It’s always fun in CADS productions, to see and hear the band interact with the cast and vice-versa and this show was no different with Mike Spellar specifically coming under fire from them.  The quality of a live band can never be underestimated and, in these days of tight budgets, it’s always nice to see a group use them as much as possible.  Unfortunately, for many of the numbers the music from the band was far too loud and it was near impossible to hear the vocals from the cast.  This was most notable in The Dame and Wishee’s song, when nearly every line was inaudible. 

The choreography was developed between Nat Wilsher, Caron Gibbons and Hope Mortimer and was simple but fun.  The stage at Chardstock is quite narrow and it makes sense to not attempt massive complicated dance routines and work within the confines of the space available, so these dances worked very well.  Unfortunately, there were several instances when it was obvious the dancers were not sure what they needed to do and they were clearly arguing and shrugging at each other on stage, which kind of ruined the effect a little.  The singing in this production was very varied across the board.  There were some absolutely beautiful harmonies between Chelsea White and Carys Boxell and these two balanced each other very well.

As usual, the sets were very basic and mostly achieved with the use of backdrops.  This was a very sensible idea and when you have 17 scenes, a very good way of keeping the production ticking along at a decent pace.  Even though the scenes were simple in their design, The Cave of Wonders was cleverly designed.

The script was written by Tom Whalley.  It is not made clear in the programme if the words read on stage were purely Tom’s or if anything was added by the cast or the directors but, the script was funny and full of innuendos.  I think it is fun in a pantomime to have the odd joke that is above the kids heads and aimed squarely at the adults, although a couple of them were perhaps a little too near the knuckle.  There were lots of fun moments in the show and an audience favourite had to be the “wall” gag, which was very well performed and incredibly funny.  The magic carpet scene was also well performed and cleverly transferred from page to screen and the Chinese dragon coming through the audience looked sensational.

The cast did a good job, but there was more than a fair share of first night jitters on show.  Mike Spellar did a fine job of winding the audience up as Abanazar but even this seasoned performer seemed a little out of sorts towards the beginning of the show.  However, you could tell that he definitely relaxed and eased into the role more comfortably as the show progressed.  A very funny addition, and a slight change to the normal script, was Jonathan Milford’s Genie of the Camp.  Jonathan was great in this role and his relaxed mincing was definitely appreciated by the audience.  Having seen a few CADS shows, it is nice to see Jonathan getting more of a meaty role to get his teeth into!  However, the star of the show had to be Chelsea White in the title role of Aladdin.  Although Chelsea has been treading the boards for some years now, this was only her second main role and you would never have guessed.  She held her own on the stage, next to actors with many more year’s experience and really made the part her own.  Not only that but she had a great stage presence that made your eyes go to her in every scene.  I had the privilege of watching her first main role in another production which was in January, and from both of these forays into principle acting it is clear she has a very bright stage career in front of her.  Maybe in 2048, she will be the voice over for The Oracle?

One thing that is always evident at a CADS production, is that the cast look like they are having fun.  I think this is so important in any production but can really help elevate a pantomime to another level – if you are having fun, so are the audience.   As usual, this was on show many times during this performance, most notably with Brian Moore’s rebel goatee beard, which had a mind of its own and its own fan club in the audience.

Overall, this was not the strongest production that I have seen on CADS stage, let down a little by some jitters and a very loud band.  However, it was still a fun show to watch and, as always, full of lots of laughs and silliness.  Thank you for the invite and here’s to the next 30 years.

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