Aladdin

Pantomime season is now in full swing, and it was a pleasure to visit QUADS for their performance of Aladdin.  It was great to receive such a warm welcome, and also a sneaky peek backstage to see the innovative backdrop arrangement used by the group (of which more later!) 

Unless you have been trapped in a magic lamp for the last few hundred years, the story of Aladdin will be a familiar one.  In it, our hero is tricked by the evil Abanazer into retrieving a magical lamp, in which a Genie resides.  Accidentally summoning the Genie, Aladdin gains great riches, which help him in his pursuit of the Princess Jasmine.  But when Abanazer gets the lamp back, it looks as though their plans will be derailed.  Needless to say, all is resolved happily (oh, yes it is!) 

In classic Principal Boy style, Robyn Hemmings gave a confident, winning performance as Aladdin, leading the cast well alongside Amy Day, who interacted well with the audience as a lively Wishee Washee.  Unusually, Widow Twankey was played by a woman, which meant that some of her lines didn’t quite land in the same way they would if it was a man saying them.  However, after the initial surprise, Linda Thomas easily won the audience over and was every inch the panto Dame, sharing some wonderfully corny panto jokes with Wishee.  Luke French was suitably dastardly as Abanazer, taking plenty of opportunities to bait the crowd, and John Ryder had the requisite presence (and an impressive blue wig) to carry off the role of the Genie. 

As Princess Jasmine and her companion So-Shi, Holly Reimer and Kayleigh Cook formed a nice double act, full of knowing glances and asides – it was easy to believe that these two were friends and confidantes.  And as a pair of hapless policemen, Pep-Si and Ko-La, Dan Scopes and Mark Avery showed some good comic timing.  Last but not least amongst the principals, Suzie Cook delivered the Slave of the Ring’s rhyming couplets well. 

Supporting the main cast were a charming chorus of villagers and town children, all of whom played their part.  I particularly enjoyed the number in Widow Twankey’s laundry, in which the kids were transformed into a bunch of very cute ‘soap suds’ (nicely choreographed by Robyn Hemmings).  Well done to all of the chorus – your performances really helped to bring the show to life. 

This was an unashamedly traditional panto, with director Claire Scopes making sure that all of the requisite elements were present and correct.  There was good energy and interaction with the audience throughout, who reciprocated with plenty of boos and cheers – oh yes we did!  At one point a certain blonde-haired politician made an unexpected appearance from the audience – a funny and effective moment.  Interspersed with the action were plenty of songs, often with the lyrics slightly altered to fit the circumstances.  These were well delivered, those involving the whole cast having a particular impact.

The set was comprised primarily of a series of nicely painted backdrops, which could be rolled up and down as required – an ingenious solution to the challenge of providing multiple backdrops in a venue lacking the flies of a regular theatre.  The cast were decked out in some very good and colourful Far Eastern style costumes (all except the Dame, which I thought was a bit of a shame), which really helped to set the scene.  Sound and lighting were handled well, although perhaps more have been made of some moments such as the magic carpet ride. 

I would like to congratulate everyone at QUADS for delivering a thoroughly enjoyable pantomime, which deservedly garnered an enthusiastic welcome from the audience.  Well done to all, and I look forward to seeing you all again soon. 

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