Aladdin

Thank you to Crowland Amateur Dramatic Society for the warm welcome to their 2023 pantomime Aladdin, written by Ben Crocker and produced by Michael Joyce-Knowles and Lucy Merryweather. Their Front of House staff were all in CADS uniform, smiling a greeting and welcoming people to the production.

In the past year, CADS have started a Theatre Academy, run by their own members, and have recruited a considerable number of local children and young people, from age 7 to 17, who made up the chorus for this production. As part of their theatre education, the society took the children to see a professional pantomime. This is to be applauded. Many of them had not been to the theatre before, and apparently, their response and the enthusiasm that it generated were well worth it. If there is to be a future for theatre, whether amateur or professional, it is important to introduce each generation to the magic of live performance. How many of us had our first introduction to theatre at a pantomime?

The auditorium was packed with an enthusiastic audience who were really into the panto spirit, and each seat had a boo/hiss card on it as we arrived, to give the audience encouragement. The auditorium (a large school hall with impressive stage facilities) was well-decorated with Chinese lanterns to set the scene.

The story of Aladdin needs no précis, but of course, being a pantomime, there were several twists. The children in the audience particularly enjoyed the antics of two ( and at times three) pandas in splendid costume, Wenki Back and Sushi  (played by Lauren Prendergast and Nancy Hill).

 Nigel Powell as the evil Abanazar certainly looked the part and played the baddy well, though my heart bled for him when he got his lines in a twist- haven’t we all been there? Kate Nizzer was a splendid thigh-slapping Aladdin, and Carla Cole and Jayne Munton as Ping and Pong were practically perfect Peking policemen.

Joanne Strickland was excellent as a sympathetic Wishee Washee, and John Martin as the very blue Genie of the Lamp also impressed. Emily Seaton made a pretty Princess Jasmine and Jo Abraham was a very gentle Emperor of China. Maddie Hill completed the line-up of genies as a pretty Genie of the Ring.

John Munton commanded the stage as Widow Twankey. Being a community panto, there were obviously a lot of friends and acquaintances in the audience who heckled his every word – but he was never flummoxed and his quick witty responses had the audience laughing with him.

The stars of the show were for me the children, whose enthusiasm and energy shone through. When I met them afterwards, I asked how many wanted to make a career of acting and end up in the West End – every single one put their hand up! It wouldn’t surprise me if one or two of them lived up to that dream.

The music was all supplied by backing tracks. At this stage it is worth commenting that the sound quality was very good, even for a deaf old gentleman like me. Lighting was also excellent.

The choreography was generally simple but good. The enthusiasm of the children made for some very individual performances!

Stage management was faultless with a large backstage team under the direction of Nathan Snell.

The sets were simple but effective and colourful. The society obviously has some good artists working on the backdrops. Costumes were particularly beautiful, from Widow Twankey’s outrageous dresses to the Genie of the Ring’s harem outfit. The wardrobe department deserves high compliments.

Make-up was bright and appropriate for a panto – I suspect the Genie of the Lamp is going to be washing blue pigment down his bathtub for a few days!

The programme is impressive -full colour, with a question-and-answer feature for each principal. The level of community support is apparent too, - a 36-page programme with dozens of adverts for local businesses. That alone must have taken some collating, and Tom Joyce-Knowles, Lucy Cousins and John Munton are to be congratulated.

Overall an enjoyable evening at a community pantomime. Thank you for entertaining me.

 

 

 

 

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