Aladdin

Pantomime is an art form which I’m very fond of! Not only is it patriotic, I love the challenge for a company to get creative and go as over the top as they want, really let their hair down, show off what they’re best at and above all, have bags of fun!
This script (written in-house by Barry Crossley) was packed to the brim with gags, the action moved at a rapid pace and we were treated to a healthy selection of musical treats too, thanks to Anthony Quimby and his able band.

When I was told (before the show began) that this panto had been written by the fella playing the Dame, I had a preconceived idea that we were about to see a self-indulgent performance all centred around him! Barry was indeed, an excellent ‘Twankey’ who has the natural stage gravitas of a true panto Dame and also looked appropriately hideous in a succession of outrageous costumes, he delivered the iconic role with great vitality, loads of fun and with the perfect level of innuendo, making his performance equally as enjoyable to both children and adults.

Barry was evidently a credit to this production as both a writer and performer, his passion and understanding of this art form was clear as he’d incorporated every ingredient needed to produce a quality pantomime. But most commendable of all (and remembering he’s the writer) at no point did he ever attempt to glorify himself during the performance, which (and this includes professional pantos I've seen that have had the writer in the starring role) is a first! Not only did this correct my initial preconception, it is also very enriching than attempting to self-worship.

Jack Griffiths took the role of Wishie Washie, he played the part as though he’s been doing panto’s all his life – a natural! He had a cheeky attitude, kept cool throughout (the kids loved him!), delivered the comedy really well and when on stage with Barry, they were magic! The laundry scene was a personal highlight – classic panto at its best!

It’s incredibly common to see, but nine times out of ten, I find it extremely cringe worthy when a panto performer delivers an extrovertly camp impersonation of a character – but – Daniel Lacey as the Genie worked a treat! Yes, he would certainly give Rylan Clark a run for his money for the camp factor but I cannot deny, I found him very comical and engaging. 

With panto’s, you can use pretty much any songs you like to convey that particular characters emotion or heighten the ambiance of that particular scene so it does confuse me when a song is chosen which is far out of the performers ability, as there is no need for it, however - we did get a wide range of musical offerings; some musical theatre: ‘For Good’ from Wicked, two numbers from ‘Hairspray’ and the entire ‘Priscilla’ finale megamix! Some recognisable chart tunes: Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’ and instead of the old hat song sheet, the entire audience was up on their feet to ‘What’s The Fox Say’! Even the Overture was a mash up of ‘The King & I’ and ‘Oliver!’ Overture’s.  
 
Helena Ferreira took the title role of Aladdin, she looked great, addressed the crowd perfectly and sung her songs well. A big shout out must go to the younger members of the cast who added another layer of energy and fun into the overall performance! Great job!

The purse strings were evidently kept tight for this production but it didn’t spoil the proceedings thanks to the excellent script, good music and high energy performances throughout the cast which kept us gripped and above all, ideally entertained!

Congratulations NMAODS!

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