Aladdin

Although Aladdin is considered one of the most popular pantomimes of all time, surprisingly this production by St Paul’s Players is the only one I have seen during this Pantomime season. The very comedic script written by Alan P Frayne, is popular and has been performed  by different companies on many occasions and I was somewhat worried that my familiarity with it would influence my enjoyment of the show, however happily I am pleased to say that this excellent production felt very new, was very entertaining and really enjoyable, which must be put down to the expertise of the Production Team that included Director Graham Cohen, Producer Jane Harrison,  Choreographer Lorraine Robinson, and Assistant Choreographer Pearl Williams and also the undeniable fact that this company has some brilliant comedy actors in its ranks, one of the best proponents of this talent and genre is Dax Owen, who this time took on the role of that favourite Pantomime larger than life character Widow Twankey, Dax has great comic timing and a wonderful knack of communicating brilliantly with the audience, he was complimented in his comedic escapades by fellow natural comedian and Pantomime expert Gareth Mabon as Wishy-Washy, they both work very well together and appear to understand each other very well. Rob Armstrong as the dastardly Abanazer made an excellent pantomime baddy with a mixture of evil and comedy, he also played well to the audience, as did Leanne Romney as Yu-Dun-Wong and David Greenfield as Yu-Dun-Pong who have  made the comedy double act their own, having been cast in this type of role for the past few years.They have developed a very good working relationship and produced another excellent comedy performance this year. Robyn Burns appeared  relaxed in the role of Aladdin and was able to hold her own amongst these comedy veterans, she also sang and acted with confidence. Robyn was complimented nicely by Emily Baron  as the delightful Princess Mandarin who in turn was supported very well by Rebecca Hilton as her handmaiden So Shy. Then we have  Mandarin’s  mother the Empress played by the very talented Siobhan Edge who always produces a good performance and lastly but most definitely not least we have the two genies who were Debbie Leyland in the role of the lovely rhyming Spirit of the Ring, and a favourite with the audience was the wonderfully camp Genie of the Lamp played by Harry Cohen.The Principle cast were supported brilliantly by a large ensemble of young dancers who  appeared to enjoyed performing  the lively up to date Choreography with lots of enthusiasm and precision they were accompanied by backing tracks which worked well. I particular like the idea of having some of the  dancers representing precious stones and the jewels of the cave, such as Diamonds,Rubies Sapphires and Emeralds, the dancers  were  dressed in the colour of the jewel they were representing, which made for a very colourful scene.
The set and props were as usual well built and just right for the production also the smooth transitions between scenes helped keep the pace of the show just right and along with efficient sound,lighting and colourful applicable costumes added authenticity  to the production, well done to the Stage Manager Stephen Blundell, Scenic Artist Howard Bates and all the backstage workers
Congratulation to all involved in this very enjoyable production which the audience enjoyed very much, there were plenty of laughs, boos, shouting out and excellent rapport with the audience which is a sign of an excellent successful pantomime. Thank you very much for inviting us we had a very enjoyable full of laughter evening.                        

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