Aladdin

What better way to raise the spirits in the ‘no man’s land’ between Christmas and New Year than going to a bright and cheerful panto – and this production of Aladdin had brightness and cheerfulness in abundance.

Written and directed by Rebecca Townsend, this version of the well-known story was a little different from usual, and all the better for it. The strong script brimmed with all the elements you expect to find in a panto, with lots of opportunities for the audience to join in and a seemingly endless supply of really bad puns!

Rebecca had chosen a very simple set: just an empty stage with the scenes created by excellent quality graphics (Simon Townsend) projected on the back wall and a few well-made props (Mike Brummell and Roland Robinson) enabling fast scene changes and allowing the show to keep up a good pace. Costumes (Rebecca again, with Maddi Butler-Townsend) were bright and colourful, and very appropriate for the roles. I particularly admired the dragon (is that a prop or a costume, I wonder?) taking three people to operate it but thrilling the younger members of the audience.

The talented cast was led by Les Hilton, who made a marvellous Widow Twankey, with typically outrageous dresses, wigs and makeup, and a good line in repartee with the audience. Hannah Skelton had great stage presence as Aladdin, with a beautiful singing voice – every inch the principal boy, while Lou Latchford was a bubbly and nicely dim Wishee Washee, and also a lovely singer. Amanda Ward seemed to be having a great time playing a really evil and scheming Abanazar, impressively reeling off her list of ‘E’ words (although maybe a few too many times) while Marie Thornton was delightfully innocent and delicate as Princess So-Shy, and another very able singer. Maisy Bedford and Josette Coulston made a great comedy duo as PCs Nee and Nah (loved the flashing police helmets!) Deborah Roberts was nicely glamorous as the heavy-footed Genie of the Ring, while Dan Townsend made a magnificent, and genial, Genie of the Lamp – or should that be gym? – both with nicely restrained but very sparkly makeup.

The large cast filled the theatre, making many entrances through the audience, adding to the excitement. Amelia Aburrow’s choreography was excellent throughout allowing the Arabesque dancers to delight us with not only their dancing but their acrobatics too – very impressive. The standard of singing by everyone was very good and the sound (Sound Impression) was spot on – no crackles or pops from the head mics and a good balance achieved between the singers and the quality backing tracks for the modern but relevant songs. Lighting too (Charlie Townsend) was very effective, highlighting the action in the absence of a conventional set. My only slight quibble was that the show was a little too long, bearing in mind the attention span of some of the younger members of the audience.

As always Cloud Nine, you gave us a warm welcome, and a marvellous evening’s entertainment, with lots of fun and laughter along the way, to suit all ages. Thank you!!

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