Aladdin

As always with a Harlequin panto, there was a lot of energy flowing off the stage throughout the show from an impressively talented cast.  The big musical and dance numbers just kept on coming, each just as sparkling as the last.  These numbers complimented the hilarious script written by Alan McHugh which was very clever and incorporated local settings into traditional story without losing the charm Aladdin has as a panto. Opening the show in the cutest way possible were the narrators Darcy Capaldi and Martha McKenzie who had the audience eating out the palm of their hands.  This set the scene for a very fun and entertaining night ahead.  I loved the narrators taking a Doctor Who theme and transitioning into; Matthew Penman, Noah Shaw, Sam Martin and Ciaran Hayes along the way.  This was a delightful touch and allowed more talent to be showcased out with the main character line up.  Leading the story was Mark McLaughlin as the title role of Alan … Adam … no wait … Aladdin (borrowing a joke from the show) who brought this hero to life, with comedy and charm.  The audience were definitely on his side and Mark’s engagement with them was fab.  The love of Aladdin’s life Princess Jasmin played by Meghan Burns.  Meghan balanced the sweetness of the panto princess with a feistiness that saw her saving the day in the end against the baddie.  Proving Princess Jasmin was every bit as much of a hero as Aladdin.  Bringing comedy and high levels of energy to the story were Aaron Bastable as Widow Twanky and Michael Cameron as Wishee Washee.  Both worked very well together and had a strong connection with audience.  Their entrance business with the audience was fab and was met with a great response every time.  The cooking scene was very well done, and the stage crew should be credited for making this work … I was scared that Wishee Washee was going to end up in the bowl too!!  Wishee Washee also had excellent scenes with So Shy / Sharon.  A genius way to bring this character into a modern panto world and the delivery of announcing her name by Kara McQueen was terrific.  I could not stop laughing.  Kara and Michael had great timing together and oozed comedy in their roles.  Bringing a royal flare, in a very comic way were Matthew King and Lara Sabharwal as the King and Queen Consort.  Their modern outfits very fitting as a nod to the current King and Queen Consort, and them having a copy of Harry’s autobiography Spare with them at all times was too funny.  Rounding up the characters were Christopher Ralph as Genie and Sophie Lawson as Scherezade / Spirit of the Ring.  These younger cast members gave fantastic, confident performances and characterisation throughout and helped bring the magic to the story.  The full cast were supported by a great backstage team covering props, costumes, set and make up which demonstrates perfectly the family spirit of Harlequin.  This was also evident from the large amount of Harlequin alumni who were in the audience to support their former club.  Their energy matching that coming from the stage was a great mix.  Aladdin was another fantastic success for this talented youth theatre.

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