Aladdin

Aladdin is the traditional tale of the poor washerwoman’s son, who finds a magic lamp containing a genie who changes his life forever, but along the way he learns that the power of love and a pure and honest character is more important than riches and status.  This version was performed by the Sutton Bridge Players under the direction of Rachelle Carnell.

After some housekeeping and safety notes,  the lights dimmed, and an evil laugh and flash of light introduced Abanazar (Haley Murphy) who taunted the audience calling them ‘ugly gargoyles.’  He told the audience of his ambitions to be ruler of the world to enthusiastic booing. With a shimmer of light and a musical effect, the Spirit of the Ring (Lorraine Nuccoll) appears who gets Abanazar’s name consistently wrong calling him 'Ava-a-banana' which was a running joke throughout.  He commands the spirit to give him riches and fame, but she informs him only the Genie of the Lamp can give him these - but here’s the twist the lamp can only be retrieved by someone young, worthy and pure of heart - a poor boy called Aladdin who lives in downtown Peckham. 

A lively routine to ‘Washing 9-5’ introduces Widow Twanky (Jason Carnell), Wishee Washee (Fiona Milnes) and Aladdin (Kirsty Nichols) plus a chorus of villagers. Uniformed Chief Dickinson (Graham Dickinson) brandishing a notebook and a very shrill whistle, accompanied by PC Ryan (Paula Ryan) and PC Goddard (Steve Goddard), question Aladdin and her brother, Wishee Washee, about criminal activities in the palace gardens and a missing ‘Wee Wee Tree.  

Widow Twanky then introduces herself with some jokes for the audience punctuated by a ‘ba dum tish’ from the drums and a song about being a wash girl to the tune of If I Were a Rich Man with lots of washing references.  

The Royal party arrive to a trumpet fanfare, including the Empress of Faraway (Angela Scott) her feisty daughter Princess Yasmine (Charlotte Ryan with a very annoying laugh) and her maid Mimsy Pudica (June Drew.)  Aladdin cannot resist a sneaky peek at the Princess despite a ‘fate worth than death or some community origami’ the penalty for purely gazing at her.

Abanazar rescues Aladdin from being arrested by the police for attempting to kiss the princess and pretends he is his long-lost uncle – but should he trust him?

Once in the mysterious ‘Cave of Wonders’, Aladdin is sealed in by a frustrated Abanazar, but is rescued by the Spirit of the Ring, who helps him to release the genie played by Ashley Hornigold, who quickly grants Aladdin all his dreams of riches, his own palace and the promise of the Princess’ hand in marriage - but will he get his happy ending or will Abanazar get his revenge on them both?

Lorraine Nuccoll was a feisty Spirit of the Lamp easily dealing with heckles from some of the younger members of the audience and sang a sweet duet with her love interest, the genie of the lamp. Jason Carnells played the Dame part well although I felt some of the jokes went over the audience’s heads. I enjoyed his musical one-upmanship ‘battle of the richest’ with the empress. Fiona Milnes as Wishee Washee had a good rapport with the audience especially encouraging them to shout for her if anyone touched the Wee Wee tree.  

Haley Murphy played Abanazar well, keeping in character with evil laughs and becoming increasingly frustrated with Aladdin and the constantly heckling audience.  Kirsty Nichols as Aladdin, was appropriately cheeky and more than a match for Abanazar and she sang her vocals well. I especially liked her solo while flying down the aisle ‘sitting’ on a magic carpet. 

Special mention to Graham Dickinson for his deadpan, laid-back chief of police and ‘rocking’ vocals which were showcased well in the panto and for his adlibs and inventive use of his water pistol causing Wishee Washee to hilariously ‘corpse’ during the audience participation routine.

I did notice, however, that some cast members quickly switched off their ‘character personas’ once they headed for the ‘wings.’  Remember you are still in full view of the audience, so do try to maintain the magic for a bit longer. 

A brightly painted set made best use of the simple staging, serving as the backdrop for a marketplace, featuring an advert for a local butcher, while some scenes took place in front of the curtains. The mangle scene, with the comedy PCs, was done well with a flattened cardboard cut-out to show the fate of the victim.  Aladdin’s palace was two decorated columns and a shimmering gold curtain. 

Costumes were largely appropriate to the pantomime theme, with Aladdin wearing patched ragged trousers to show his poor status. I liked the string of washing on Widow Twanky’s green wig to indicate her profession and the genie’s blue body paint and curly golden slippers. I also liked the sparkly green finale costumes worn by Princess Yasmine and Aladdin. 

Lighting and sound effects were used effectively to highlight scenes such as flashing lights for chase scenes, Abanazar’s spell casting, the opening of the ‘Cave of Wonders’ or magical light and thunder effects for the genie’s appearance.

All in all, a traditional family panto full of local references which was appreciated by the audience - the momentum was mostly pacy with some quick-fire routines requiring comic timing. Congratulations to the cast and the hard-working back-stage crew, whose contribution was praised at the end by director/chairperson Rachelle. 

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