Aladdin

Aladdin

The Exmouth Players

Written by Alan P Frayn

Director & Choreographer: Tracey Hamilton

The Blackmore Theatre, Exmouth

Saturday 7th  December 2019

‘Tricia Barclay

NODA SW Representative District 6

This was a traditional family panto full of energy and enthusiasm, and the director did extremely well to orchestrate the cast of nearly forty performers, all of varying ages and ability, around the space available, emulating the feel of a larger production.  

The main characters were well headed up by two seasoned performers. Widow Twankey in a splendid array of dazzling dresses was still played most definitely as a “bloke in a frock”, and gave a confident performance interacting well with the audience.

 Abanazar hit just the right note as the “baddie” of the piece, scheming and conniving but not over the top, and his scene with Aladdin at the entrance to the cave worked particularly well. 

As seems to be the trend more and more these days the principal boy role was played by a young man. While the part of Aladdin was performed sincerely, and together with a sweet and pretty Princess the two made a charming young couple, somehow, and with no fault to the performer, the “cheeky chappie” element of the character seemed to be missing.

That this was a very inclusive “company” production showed particularly in the casting of the supporting roles and in the diversity of ages.

The Spirit and the Emperor brought steadiness and maturity, while the youngsters as Wishee and So-Shy gave energy and spontaneity, and the Genie though young and diminutive was most certainly commanding! The two Chinese Policemen were great fun, the experience of Hu-Dun-Pong  shining through, particularly in the timing, and  while the “Ying Tong”  theme  heralding their entrances was eminently suitable –  perhaps not every time?

A lot of hard work had obviously gone into putting together the multitude of delightful costumes, and as is tradition the Dame seem to change for every entrance, a credit to the backstage team!

Good use was made of the auditorium for exits and entrances, sensible with such a big cast and limited space behind the scenes, and showed complete dedication from the performers having to run around the outside of the building!

The two cave entrances, to the left and right of the auditorium was a clever idea and for the most part worked well. It did though make for a slightly less convincing “open sesame” scene, but this could of course have been down to “sight line” issues, and lack of “setting-up” in time on the main stage.

The washing-machine scene with Wishee and a truly magnificent “mangle” created much laughter, and both the Village and Palace Garden backdrops were most impressive. 

With a super script from “Stageright” full of all the traditional, well-loved pantomime fun, a strong story-line, action that flowed and lots of audience participation, this vibrant and colourful production, with plenty of well-chosen song and dance numbers, was very warmly received. Oh yes it was!

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.