Aladdin

Before the curtain opened this Pantomime was off to a superb start under the lively baton of ‘Musical Director’ Aubrey Sanderson, who set the exciting pace with his excellent arrangements. This was a fun-packed show with every element of Pantomime evident and performed by a very experienced cast who were slick and innovative as well as being extremely well rehearsed. As ever, prompter Maureen was redundant. The audience were involved from the very beginning and out to enjoy the evening, being fully prepared to ‘hiss’, ‘boo’ and ‘cheer’ and join in at every given opportunity.

The chorus is always an important element of any show, and in this case they were obviously very well rehearsed by Nancy Steel the choreographer. It was lovely to see everyone smiling, all in stage shoes and matching tights, and looking out to the audience. Chorus work was well structured,had a good flow of movement and was lively and entertaining. The ‘Junior’ section of the group were included in all routines and did extremely well.

All principal roles were extremely well cast, and everyone performed exceptionally well.  Laura Dunn who has gained so much confidence, gave a very accomplished performance as Aladdin, as did Georgia Young, playing the Genie of the Lamp. Their duet together was one of the highlights of the show as it was so well arranged, and the harmony was just delightful.  Hannah Bass, playing Princess Mandarin, was sweet and demure and sang with confidence. As ever the dame, Widow Twankey, was played by John Dougal. His characterisation of the role of the dame always leaves the audience wanting more. He has such a great following and the local audiences adore him.  Jonathan Scott continues to burst out onto the stage with such energy and wit that the audience are immediately involved in his hilarious antics, and he really has perfected the role of funny man.  The comedy duo ‘Yu Dun Wong’ and ‘Hu Dun Pong’ respectively played by Fiona Dunn and Keith Fraser had us in fits of laughter and are such natural comics, working so well together. The supporting principals Rebecca Lowe, Matthew Wood, Sharon Young and George Kay all gave polished performances.              

Costumes were superb in this production, and the ‘finale’ was dazzling, so well done Pamela. I would like to give special mention to Jennifer Greenwood under whose supervision the make-up continues to amaze me. At times, with her special skills, it is hard to imagine she is an amateur make-up artist.

This group has a very dedicated production and backstage team, and with enthusiastic performers front of stage, congratulations much go to them all for giving us such a wonderful evening of pure delight. Well done everyone. Here’s to the next one.

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