Aladdin

FCSSES’ production of Aladdin was a traditional take on the pantomime, with Aladdin being recruited by the evil Abanazar. Having been tricked into entering a cave, Aladdin is able to summon the help of the Slave of the Ring and Genie of the Lamp to return to Peking and marry his bride, Princess Lotus Blossom. However, Abanazar tricks the princess into giving him the magic lamp and sending Aladdin’s palace to the desert. Nevertheless, Aladdin summons the Slave of the Ring through his magic ring and is helped to defeat the evil Abanazar. 

The titular role of Aladdin was confidently played by Jasmine Barker who complemented Katie Ambler as Princess Lotus Blossom. Widow Twankey (Neil Richardson) and Wishee Washee (Soifa Lazienko) gave it their all, engaging the audience with their jokes and encouraging the audience to participate, even if it wasn’t the easiest of tasks at times. Melissa Morse and Debbie Tasker stole the show as Minne and Winne Wong, Widow Twankee’s comedic washing assistants. Their dynamic was brilliant. Tracey Barker as Slave of the Ring enchanted the audience with her beautiful rendition of Only You. Abanazar, played by James Beil, had the audience booing along with him. He was even able to scare a few children in the audience with his wicked ways. Jamie Smith played the character of One Long Pong well, portraying the seriousness of his role as the princess’ bodyguard. There was a lovely duet between Widow Twankey and Emperor Roo Ling Yu (Steve Roswell) their voices blended really well and they bounced off each other with their “Cuddles” and “Empy” repartee. Grace McCormack-Morgan as the Genie of the Lamp was confident in her role, providing a splendid performance of the song Price Tag. The principal characters were well supported by senior and junior chorus members. 

The musical direction was provided by Anita Walker. The vocals provided by the company were strong and confident. It was clear that all of the cast knew the musical numbers well. However, in my opinion, there was room for some harmonies within some of the company numbers. Anita also provided a live accompaniment, along with Jon Baish on the drums. There was a mixture of live music and backing tracks which worked well. Each of the musical numbers were shortened which kept the pace up and enabled lots of musical numbers to be included in the show. 

Along with playing the titular character, Jasmine also choreographed the show. The choreography was simple, yet effective, and showed the strengths of each performer in both the senior and junior choruses. 

Joseph Lawrence and Sue Wilson provided the direction. There was great use of the stage, including extra platforms for the cave and the Genie of the Lamp. The cast clearly knew what they were doing and weren’t fazed by any heckling from the audience or the mishap with the bottle of Sprite. They took it in their stride and kept on point, which is not easy! There were lots of well delivered jokes by the characters, keeping the audience laughing in their seats, although it did feel that some jokes were a little inappropriate for the audience of this performance. 

At times, without microphones it was difficult to hear smaller groups/solo performers singing however, when the whole cast was on stage, the vocal sound was brilliant. The lighting provided a natural feel to the show and a highlight for me was the ending of act one and the use of ultraviolet light to depict the Genie of the Lamp transporting Aladdin from the cave to Peking. This number really captivated the audience. 

The props and scenery were appropriate and added extra depth to the magic of pantomime. The costumes were in fitting for the piece being set in Peking, China. The chorus had some beautifully bright matching costumes in their numbers. My only criticism for the costumes is the choice of footwear. At times, some of the character’s shoes were a little loud on the stage covering some lines being delivered.  

The front of house team were warm and welcoming, it was a delight to see FCSSES in action. 

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