Tin Pan Ali

Over 50 children aged between 8-16 years old took to the stage to tell the one thousand and first Arabian Nights tale of Ali Baba’s exploits to the Sultan (a last minute replacement by Emily Brown),  her comically blood thirsty Executioner (James Hamilton) and a packed audience. The story was narrated by the delightful Princess Scheherazade (Katie Drummond) and took us back to 1930’s Chicago and the time of Gangsters and their Molls. Street-sweeper Ali Baba (a strong performance by Morven Reid) steals the jewel haul of gangster boss Carooni (a truly “nasty” performance by Maya Chillingworth) and what follows is the tale of Carooni’s attempts to get the jewels back with the aid of his two sets of amusingly inept gangsters The Heavies and The Tinies led by Freddie the Fiddler (Ewan Watson) and Prince Tiny (Robert Kennedy) respectively. Strong supporting performances were given by Emma Sinclair (Ali’s girlfriend Morgiana), Anna Kenyon (Ali’s mother Fatimoma), Fergus Hughes (warehouse manager Sesame) and Zoe Harrison (Carooni’s Doll). Chorus singing and movement were carried out with enthusiasm and I particularly enjoyed “The Dust Cart Rag”, “The Dancing Song” and “The Repercussion Boogie Blues”. The multi – level set designed and constructed by friends and family of the members made good use of the stage space and the costumes, again made by friends and members of the company, were bright and appropriate. Well done everyone at Haddo Children’s Theatre!

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