Aladdin

NADOS were back on stage with their annual pantomime. This year’s offering was ‘Aladdin’, which was directed by Emma Fairhurst, making her return to the group after a five year break. Emma’s direction throughout was good and she kept the story prominent, allowing for moments of comedy throughout. It was clear that Emma had complete trust in her cast, allowing them to interact with the audience to great effect. The staging was good, with a variety of backcloths used for different locations. There were other set pieces brought on to denote different locations, such as the pyramids, which looked great. Aladdin’s escape from the cave of wonders on the magic carpet was a neat way of accomplishing this and added to the theatrical magic. Scene changes were, on the whole, completed quickly, which helped with the pace of the production. The costumes were very good, with familiar stylings for Aladdin and Princess Jasmine, meaning the audience could recognise them. Widow Twankey’s costumes were suitably outrageous.

Leanne Barnes was the musical director for this production. There were a variety of songs throughout, from musical theatre to modern songs. There were lyric changes to the songs to fit in with the story, which worked well. The cast performed to backing tracks and did very well with this.

Choreography came from Harry Thompson and Grace Fisher. The routines were varied and full of energy. There were different styles of dance throughout the production with some Bollywood flair, which really suited the production. The choreography was executed well by the entire cast.

Technical elements were good throughout this production. The sound balance between the backing tracks and microphones was good, and everything could be heard. The lighting design was good throughout, with lighting used to create atmosphere in scenes. The magic carpet was a great piece of technical engineering, allowing Aladdin to fly.

Taking on the title role of Aladdin was Harry Thompson. Harry proved to be a great principal boy, with great vocals and a good sense of comic timing. His performance of ‘Defying Gravity’ was very good, and a great closer to Act One.

Grace Fisher played Princess Jasmine. There was not a lot for Grace to do as Princess Jasmine, but she did very well with what was there. There was a great partnership with Harry and their duet was very good.

Neeve Dilworth had boundless energy as Wishee Washee. Neeve had a great rapport with the audience and was quick to get them onside, through her great interactions with them. The comedy from Neeve was spot on and she worked well with both Harry and Andrew. This was a great comic performance.

Andrew Marsh, yet again, delivered a masterclass as the panto dame, this year as Widow Twankey. There was an excellent comic partnership between Andrew and Neeve, and they bounced off each other perfectly. Andrew is totally at ease on stage, delivering great vocals, comic timing and adlibs. The audience interactions were top notch, with plenty of jokes for the adults as well as the younger members of the audience!

Taking on the pantomime villain was Jon Kennedy as Abanazar. This was a strong performance from Jon, who relished the boos. Jon had great stage presence, and used his voice well to convey this baddie. Jon was great with his audience and cast interactions.

Leanne Barnes put in a good performance as Genie. Leanne was full-on and over the top, which suited the Genie character well. She delivered some very good vocals, especially in her Act Two number.

Emma Benson was very good as Spirit of the Ring. She worked well with Jon, as a figure of good against evil. Emma lit up the stage whenever she was on it, with a great character and mannerisms befitting of this magical spirit.

Matthew Swann added some comedy to proceedings in his role as the over-protective Emperor. He worked well with Grace, and had a good rapport with the rest of the cast.

Megan Williams, Caitlin Barnes and Maddison Bajar-Hunt were a good trio as So-Sorry, So-Shy and So-Happy, Princess Jasmine’s ladies in waiting. All three had worked on their characteristics, which added to the comedy.

The ensemble was strong and everyone was full of energy during the ensemble numbers. It was clear that they were all well-rehearsed, adding to the storytelling of the production.

Overall, this was a great production. The principal performances were strong, the staging was good, and there were great moments of comedy. NADOS certainly know how to do pantomime!

A big thank you to everyone at NADOS for their kind invite and hospitality.

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