Reviews

Aladdin (Norwich,Theatre Royal)

For me (and I suspect many other
well-seasoned pantomime goers in the audience) this year’s
Aladdin at Norwich’s Theatre Royal is the pick of
the 2012 bunch. Of course, Richard Gauntlett could probably by now
play Dame in his sleep (though you could never accuse him of
sleep-walking through a performance) and his script for his own
production has some very nice touches.

Chief among these is that we’re back in
the Arabia of semi-myth, which after all is where the story
originates – no China, though Widow Twankey still runs a laundry. A
shadow puppet introduction by the Genie of the Lamp (Nick Aldis)
gives us the story of the young Aladdin who lost his father while
exploring for the magical cave and was subsequently rescued and
adopted by Twankey. Aldis has a commanding stage presence, as befits
a wrestler of some renown.

No Genie of the Ring then, and of
course no Emperor of China. Instead Princess Sukaria is her own
ruler, on the brink of having to decide on a husband. Zoe Clarke
makes her into a feisty young madam, happy to escape protocol and
trusting in her troupe of monkeys (children from the Central School
of Dancing and Performing Arts) to guard her rather than the local
constabulary led by Steve Edwin‘s Sergeant (there’s a good routine
for this troop, which André Vincent‘s Wishee Whashee is over-eager
to join).

Lucy Dixon plays Aladdin, very much a
brisk lad with clear- – not to say clean- – cut ambition; the
duets with Clarke are very good and Dixon takes off on several magic
carpet rides with aplomb. We all love to boo and hiss the villain,
and Graham Cole‘s Abanazar is a prime example of the species,
though Gauntlett adds a particularly new twist to his relationship
with Aladdin, which I won’t spoil by disclosing. Find out for
yourself!

Down in the pit, David Carter and his
players produce a bright sound and flourish some clever musical
comments on the action. The eight members of the dancing and singing
chorus have some quick costume changes as well as some quite tricky
moves dictated by Dee Jago‘s choreography. No designer is credited,
but the painted backcloths and set pieces look fine and the special
effects work splendidly.