Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

This tale from the Arabian nights is a wonderful mix of Eastern splendour and magical caves, exotic costumes and palaces, clear characters and sparkling treasure.  As such, this pantomime version of the story was very well suited to MMAD.  This was a very cheerful and happy show, where the teamwork of the cast shone through clearly, giving the audience a thoroughly entertaining spectacle full of variety, jokes, ad lib fun and energy.  Congratulations!

The staging in the very restricted space in the hall was very well done, with good use made of the balcony and the railings, the exits through the audience and the cave. The scenery was well thought out, with reversable flats, large storage jars, a puppet show, a kebab stall, a series of doors, the stage-side curtain as a cliff and scarves decorating the railings. The costumes were brilliant, suitably Eastern and colourful, with the chains added for the belly dancers and the shoulder pads for the storyteller.  Particularly impressive were the Dame’s many amusing outfits, especially the “doughnut” dress, with ‘her’ fabulous hats and wigs, and the excellent accessory of a beard!  Mustafa the robber chief, was totally believable in the rich red fabric of his authentic looking outfit and eye-catching rings.   There was a lovely visual joke when Dame and Sharon appeared in identical pink bed-wear emphasising difference in their figures!

The lighting for this production was very good, with the cross-stage triple colour bars used to great effect and the tones of colour giving extra impact to the colourful costumes.  The red lighting during the scene change worked very well.   The occasional use of the star cloth was lovely, giving a lot of sparkle to the treasure.  A special mention should be made for the joy of hearing natural voices on stage, in the dialogue and singing. The backing music was very well prepared and was effective while the singing was very good – even when the Dame was shouting.  It amazed me how he could sing so off time and off-key being the musician he is!  The Chorus numbers were lovely, with lots of jazzy movement and variety.  One duet between Sofia and Ali Baba was most creative in making use of the balcony pillar.

One of the joys of a small venue is that everyone can see well and can feel involved in the action.  The cast here were excellent at interacting with the audience, from the raffle ticket sellers at the beginning to the audience participation song before the finale. The script was very well used – and abused? - to create that intimacy and to keep the audience involved throughout the show. All the characters were very well portrayed and individual, so that one did not know at times where or whom to look at next!  Altogether this was a very successful and entertaining show.  It is rare to ache with laughter at the present time, but the audience was in stitches throughout this production.  The fast pace worked well, the energy level was high and the cast were obviously very much enjoying what they were doing.  The farcical elements and slapstick were very effective, while the teamwork of the cast was visible to all. Very well done! 

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