Disney's Aladdin Jr.

I think I must be the only person in the country who, until now, hadn’t seen Disney’s version of the story of Aladdin, and so it was quite a surprise to find that it didn’t feature Widow Twankey or Wishee Washee, which probably takes the plot back a lot closer to its origins in the tales of The Arabian Nights. With music by the talented Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, we were undoubtedly in for a treat – and that’s exactly what FMS Youth Theatre delivered.

Fareham Live’s Studio One is fairly limiting in how much set you can use, so I was impressed with the imagination that James Beale and Graeme Clements had used to create the right atmosphere for every scene. The market stall canopies, the tent, the treasure chest, the turn-around flats and, in particular, the magic carpet were all ingenious and were handled well by the cast. Ian Pratt’s lighting, with clever special effects, added drama to the scenes which, together with the colourful costumes, created lots of interesting pictures.

Everyone on stage gave bright and energetic performances, and you all looked as though you were having a great time! Your singing was really tuneful and coordinated, and you all danced beautifully making use of every inch of the stage, even including some acrobatics. Very impressive! All the hard work you put into your rehearsals has really paid off.

I will mention just a few individuals. Nellie Mulcare made the perfect Aladdin, full of confidence but kind and gentle. Emily Fox gave us a very sparky Princess Jasmine, showing great determination to marry for love despite the Sultan’s wishes (a strong performance by Enola Jeffrey). Genie of the Lamp, Rosie Beale – what a performance that was: lively, bold and full of spirit. Sienna Biddle and Brooke Wallis made Jafar and Iago a great comic double act, exuding confidence with so much character and expression you drew the audience’s eye every time you were on stage. Brilliant.

Unfortunately, some gremlins in the sound system caused some problems, but being true professionals, you carried on regardless, projected well and entertained us royally.

Thank you so much for making it such a memorable and entertaining afternoon!

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