Ali Baba and the Forty Theives

This Production took us to the colourful world of Pantomime from the opening number, unmistakably set in ‘Old Bagdad’, to the grand wedding of the finale. This Theatre has a large stage but does not offer facilities for flying in backcloths, and so all cloths are on a series of tab tracks, which are pulled across. All of the backcloths from Scenic and Property Hire were impressive and well painted. The cloth for the outside of the cave with the hole and moving part was well operated with the cave interior set behind it, so that you glimpsed the interior before it was revealed. The costumes were colourful, fitted well and suitably ‘eastern’. The lighting had been well designed helping create the various exteriors and interiors, with atmospheric lighting inside the cave and subtle use of the follow-spot. The sound effects added to the atmosphere, with that of the opening of the cave very effective and well cued. The music was a mixture of live performance from keyboard and drums and taped music for the dance routines. 

Musical Director Helen Harris had taught the songs well and they were performed with enthusiasm and good diction.  There were good chorus numbers and individual songs. The duet between Dame Baba and Mustapha Lot was extremely amusing. The production had some interesting choreography from Heather Newman and Kate Williams.  Both the Junior and Senior Dance Teams provided entertainment, which was of a high standard and in keeping with the show, always looking relaxed and happy, executing their routines energetically. The choreography for the rest of the cast was appropriate to their abilities and they all looked confident.

The production opened with a well-delivered prologue from Scheherazade, which set the scene. We then had a departure from the usual Pantomime format of a big chorus number to open and had a dance number instead which was ‘full of Eastern Promise’. The action continued with the evil Mustapha Lot, the Prince of Thieves and his men, which gave the audience many opportunities to boo and hiss. Elbow and Elbent, Mustapha’s henchmen, provided the usual silliness, this was a good combination of an actor with the more experienced giving support to the

younger less experienced, I am sure he learnt a great deal. We had principal boy Ali with his friend Salina, the slave girl, who is obviously in love with him, but he at first, has designs on the Sultana’s daughter. Then we have the Sultana and her daughter, Princess Jasmine, a stroppy ‘modern’ teenager glued to her mobile; the so important Hoo Wazee, the Sultana’s Wazir who keeps announcing her arrival; the Genie, who has taken early retirement and can only grant one wish; Camilla, the camel who belongs to Ali Baba and of course the outrageous Dame Barbara Baba, Ali’s mother. The lack of male members in the cast was overcome by having mostly female thieves and changing the Sultan into a Sultana, which worked well, this was a strong performance with the character always in charge. The principal characters were well supported by the Senior and Junior choruses.

This was a traditional family Pantomime with colourful costumes and sets, interesting songs, plenty of audience participation, which everyone seemed to enjoy.

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