Aladdin

Ulverston Pantomime Society’s offering this year was Aladdin, a long-term staple of amateur theatre groups, and probably second only to Cinderella in the popularity stakes. The group themselves have only missed doing one Pantomime since 1948 - and that, of course, was last year.

From the offset, we are introduced to Abanazer - your typical pantomime bad guy, and Jinni, Spirit of the Ring, representing all that’s good in the world, and protector of Aladdin and Ying Yui.

Abanazer, of Turkish descent, was played by Russell Palmer. Russell made the most of the role, coming across as devious and nasty - knowing exactly the right buttons to push with both kids and adults - diction perfect with lines delivered in a wicked tongue-in-cheek style. You could tell Russell relished the role and the audience loved hating him - which is just how it should be. The role of Jinni was undertaken by Helen Day - the antithesis of Abanazer’s Evil. Helen’s calm and measured performance worked really well throughout, and the children in the audience loved her for it.  Sometimes, during the opening excitement of a panto, lines can be lost and gabbled - not so with these two.

Off to Chinatown, my Chinatown (I’ve never known an Ulverston Aladdin without this number), to meet all the other cast and chorus.

Kim Little played Aladdin with Charisma and style, Aladdin’s sense of fun came over well - especially in the scenes with Wishee Washee and Widow Twankey.

Aladdin’s love interest, Princess Ying Yui, played by Leah Greaves, was spirited and confident, and this all came across well in all facets of her performance - both Leah and Kim singing well throughout.

Princess Ying Yui’s father, Emperor Feng Shui was played by Peter Buckley - solid in his performance of a father wanting to do what’s best for his daughter (whilst trying to stay clear of Twankey’s advances) - as does Chaihong, Ying’s friend and servant, played well by Carole Leech. Both managed to eke out as much as they could from their roles.

Wishee Washee and Widow Twanky, Aladdin’s brother and mother were played by Adam Atkinson and Bob Needham respectively - both turning up the silliness a notch whenever they were on. Both Bob and Adam were great in their roles - especially in delivery of the “asides”, though on occasion seemed to not realise that they were miked for dialogue, and came across as “a bit shouty” as one child near me commented. 

Most pantos have a classic double act, and this one was no exception.  In this production, as with every other Aladdin, they were police-persons, Tong and Chong, Denise King playing Tong, the most sensible one of the pair and Chong being played by Steve Thompson. Denise and Steve worked well together - the height difference being used to good effect throughout.

The Genie of the Lamp was played by Nicky Diggle - I think it’s the first time I’ve seen the Genie played by a woman, and Nicky played it well - getting a few digs and laughs in about men along the way.

All chorus numbers were well drilled and delivered with purpose - most song choices quite modern in contrast to previous years. The whole show had quite a modern feel about it, with poo on shoe jokes and Tinder references, which the audience seemed to enjoy.

Staging was generally cloths with furniture and flats to give depth - lighting and sound were complementary to the piece.

Choreographer Alex Mattinson had worked hard with the cast, and it showed - all numbers were well executed with nearly everyone singing and smiling throughout.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of Ulverston Pantomime is the live orchestra, and this year was no exception. Under the capable baton of Elisabeth Greaves, the orchestra sounded great, fully supporting the cast.

Director Sue Little must have enjoyed the whole process with this production and it showed. She should be rightfully proud of what she and the company achieved - especially with the real possibility of all their hard work not being seen.

This being one of the last “full production” societies I saw perform before the "hiatus", and one of the first seen after, the difference in how the audiences reacted was quite noticeable .... for the first couple of minutes - then it was as if we’d never been away.

Thank you Ulverston Pantomime Society for your invitation and hospitality.

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