Aladdin Adventures In The East

   

Firstly I would just like to say thank you to the incredibly hard working team behind the scenes, especially Abigail Grimsey and Emily Littlejohn for taking so much time to come and chat with me and let me know a little background of the society. Being my first visit here it was very much appreciated and your dedication to the youth performers is clearly evident.

We all know the story of Aladdin and his rise from rag to riches, winning the heart of Princess Jasmine along the way. But it’s a story that never gets old and this group did it justice.

What struck me immediately was the overall feeling amongst the performers and how that translated to their audience. Pantomimes aren’t designed to be slick, no mistake productions… they are about making an audience feel happy whatever happens.

Aladdin played by the marvellous Holli Dixey was absolutely perfect in the role. A strong performer with good vocals and expressive face. I felt she gave confidence to others on stage when they needed it.

Ruby Mitchell looked lovely as Princess Jasmine, she had a few mic problems though and I would have liked to see her project more during these moments. The duets between her and Aladdin got a little lost as a result but these things happen.I am sure however that she will continue to grow as a performer and she should be pleased with her performance.

A stand out for me was Sage Ashworth as WisheeWashee. She gave lovely comic timing and interacted well with the audience. She worked well with Maddie Griffiths as Soapy Sophie who gave a suitably sweet and well sung portrayal of WisheeWashee’s bride to be. Both performers seemed very comfortable on stage.

Pivotal of course to any Panto are the Dame, in this case Widow Twankey played by Tristan Williams and the baddie, Evil Abanazer played by Finn Sears. Both are excellent actors. I would have liked to see a change of costume/headdress for Widow Twankey though and I feel Finn could have been a little more “evil”. It was hard for the audience to “boo” him as he was actually very likeable.

Of course Aladdin needs a Genie and in this production there were two!  Genie of the lamp Poppy Mcglasham-Veater and Genie of the Ring, Daisy Dixey. Poppy had the tough task of singing RESPECT by Aretha Franklin. No mean feat and she sung it extremely well, the audience loved it. Daisy was excellent giving us all lots of laughs with her bored air hostess take on the less powerful Genie of the ring. She never switched out of character even when the focus wasn’t on her. Well done!

Other notable mentions should go to the two Sherezades Anya Coppock and Sophia Pratt, the two officers Bell Hoadley and Scarlett Evans and Abanazers hench men Poppy Drury and Violet Stuart who all projected beautifully. Cameron Kiff as the Sultan was excellent and Eden Gediking supported him well as the Sultana. The young Guards, Dancers and soloists all provided the “aah factor”. It was lovely to see such young performers clearly having a great time, the youngest being only two years old.

Costumes and set were excellent, exactly what you would expect to see in a panto. Lots of bright colours and sparkles! The use of a projector to set each scene worked well for the most part. However, the overhead lights at times were so bright the projections were not always clear. Sound was sadly patchy with several mics cutting out throughout the performance  but for the most part the cast coped well when this happened. Scene changes were fine with the exception of the curtains that didn’t always want to open or close! But the backstage team were quick to assist when this happened.

There were some great musical numbers throughout with “Me Too” being particularly well performed. It also gave Aladdin and the Genies an opportunity to show off some nice harmonies which I appreciated.

Overall this was a lovely production and on a personal note I would like to say how wonderful it was to see a group that is so inclusive with such a big age range amongst the performers. I understand that many of the members have been involved for years which is a credit to Abigail and her team. Clearly this is a society that looks after each other and provides a safe place for young people to be themselves, make friends and grow in confidence.

Thank you to all involved. My guest and I had a very enjoyable afternoon.

 

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