Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Ali baba, 2nd Feb 2019

St Stephens Pantomime Company 

Producers : Lindsay Allen & Steve Polmounter

Musical Director : Steve Polmounter

Choreographer : Mandine Auchinachie 

This was my first visit to see the St Stephen Pantomime Company and I’d like to say a huge thank you for making me so welcome to your group. 

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves was performed at the St Stephen Community Centre. An intimate theatre space but incredibly they managed to achieve good musical numbers including all of the cast members around 40! 

This was a very accomplished production especially considering the tight space in which to perform. The scenes and set were simple yet very effective.  I especially liked the moving rocks to get into the secret cave. The added touches of UV scenes were also very nice as Ali flew away on his magic carpet. The UV gave the illusion that the carpet was actually flying. A genius idea whoever came up with that! 

The company was lead by a great team of leading men and women. There were certainly no weak links. Christine Thomas as a wicked queen (and I’ve worked with many) was perfect. Delivery was good and nothing was missed. A nice mix of evil and sass! Evie Hicks, Rachel Bates, Jenna Rowe and Nicola Willocks as Marjana, Crown Prince Haroun, Ali Baba and Princess Jasmine respectively all gave lovely performances.  I especially enjoyed the number from the Lion King “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”.  This was sung beautifully by all and the harmonies put together were a joy to hear.  Congratulations to Steve Polmounter for the music choices. As well as the beautiful ballad there were some great company numbers. “Titanium” was one that particularly stood out and looked as if the entire company were having a great time. 

Martin Green as Asbad has a voice that is joyous to listen to.  His tongue twister really made me smile and to do it twice without any mistake was quite a feat! 

I did feel for Cathy Saint as she was obviously suffering from losing her voice but continued on stoically. As always the show must go on and I applaud Cathy for doing such a sterling job. 

The two side kick baddies “Bashim & Grabbit” were fun, silly and calculating.  A real team act. Paul Johnson and Sarah Rowe really did work well together. Paul particularly is a natural on stage and I always drawn to him on stage. A real stage presence if ever I saw one. 

Curtis Danby as our Dame was also very at home on stage.  A nice mix of cheekiness. “Fatima Fandango” was a great creation. Good interaction with the audience made her a loveable character.  

I do feel special mention should go to Teresa Sweet as “Mustafa Screwloose”. Her timing, her energy (on a 2 show day especially) and comedy skills were second to none. She really did carry an awful lot of weight on her shoulder for this show and did it valiantly.  Never out of character and joy to watch. Even the “dad jokes” made me smile. Well done! 

Choreography was perfectly suited to the scene of the Middle East and Mandine Auchinachie who created it also starred in the chorus and gave real passion and commitment to every routine.  Performed proudly and rightly so!

My only niggle was the lack of space to be able to perform all out in the routines.  

The youngsters in the company all played their parts. It’s always nice to see our stars of the future treading the boards at an early age. 

On a last note I have to commend the wardrobe team. OUTSTANDING!

I’ve seen many amateur production over the years and the costumes you managed to create were second to none.  Helen Sweet and her team of 9 should be immensely proud of themselves.   

Thank you again for a lovely night and I look forward to seeing your next production celebrating 75 years! 

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