Initially, I didn't know what to expect, I hadn't been to a pantomime in years, going off vague memories as a child I do remember being fond of them. I have to say I was very impressed with how distinct Brad Fitt's directing is. From what I remembered, audience interaction would be used extensively. This did happen - whenever Dave Bibby's character, 'Wishee Washee' came on stage, he would yell out a queue for the audience to repeat his name and children around the theatre were incredibly enthusiastic to do so. There was also Brad Fitt's character 'Widow Twankey' (this pantomime's dame) who chose a man from the audience. Whenever his character appeared on stage he would say "Hello" to the man in the audience, the man would then have to reply "Hello gorgeous". Another form of audience interaction was used when Aladdin met Princess Jasmine (Victoria McCabe) for the first time, as the Emperor (Eric Smith) called in PC Pongo (Dec Moran) who chased Aladdin around the stage looking for him - during this, the ensemble came through the entrance to the theatre and started spraying water at the audience using water guns - probably the most terrifying experience of my life.
The set was incredible, personally, I have never seen anything like it in my life. The people who made the set clearly put lots of effort and hours into it; as the show went on the set got even more grandeur. There was also a giant mummy, elephant and a baby elephant (all of which could move). The costumes were also good, as they fit the chinese setting that this adaptation of Aladdin was going for. On the topic of costumes, Brad Fitt's twelve costumes in particular were mind-boggling, each and every one of the costumes he went through in the show were designed superbly, he revealed in an interview that at one point during the show he had several minutes off stage just to get multiple costumes on simultaneously. He also revealed while wearing these costumes, he was incredibly hot - I'm not surprised either.
This pantomime doesn't differ to its Disney counterpart significantly, yet there are some changes, for example, a good portion of the main characters are additions: Widow Twankey, Wishee Washee, PC Pongo, Spirit of the Ring (Kate Malyon) and Abanazar (Philip Stewart) although I would consider Abanazar as an exception as his role is essentially the same as Jafar in the Disney adaptation.
The choreography was also brilliant, the dancers were great and at many points during the play had the audience clapping. They were always in sync and even when they weren't dancing and were just in the background they were great and set the tone and what was happening.
I personally found the acting to be very entertaining, Philip Stewart's performance as Abanazar was phenomenal. While a very menacing villain, he brought some of my favourite parts of the play; his whole character literally broke the fourth wall, His character's goal is to become the greatest Shakespearean actor of all time. When he attained the spirit of the ring, he wished for omnipotence and wealth, which the spirit of the lamp said she could grant, however he then asked to become the greatest Shakespearean actor of all time, which the spirit could not grant. I found this to be one of the funniest parts of the play. Another performance I thought stood out was Brad Fitt's as Widow Twankey. He was legendary as the pantomime's dame. While his character was typically used for the filler in the play, some of these filler scenes were actually my favourite and whichever scene Brad Fitt was in, hilarity ensued. Harry Winchester was perfect for the role of Aladdin, he's young and portrayed Aladdin's benevolence perfectly. Eric Smith as the emperor was also great; I wanted to see more of him! David Bibby as Wishee Washee was a great character to get the kids feel involved and immerse them as if they were actually part of the play. Victoria McCabe was great as the princess, contrasting greatly to her father - the Emperor. The Genie of the Lamp - played by Anelisa Lamola, who put on an astounding American accent which made me actually think she was from America - I was later shocked to find in the night during the managers speech she had a stronger English accent than I did! Kate Malyon's performance as the Spirit of the Ring humanised genies for me, her relationship with the Genie of the Lamp was similar to that of a human friendship. She also played her character's desire to be free from being a slave to humans towards Aladdin fantastically. Finally PC Pongo played by Dec Moran. There was one point during the play that he came on with a police baton, however this baton actually slipped out of his hand into the crowd. I couldn't actually tell if he did this on purpose for satire, or if it accidentally happened, this provoked my curiosity so during an interview after the show I asked him if he meant to do this or if it was an accident. He revealed that it was in fact an accident and I must say - he played it off very well.
To conclude, I would have to recommend this play - especially if your going as a family as it's just so fun to watch. I found this play to be crafted with care and love, the cast seemed very enthusiastic both during the play, and after. In fact, I might just pick up a ticket to watch the company's next play, next year - Beauty and the Beast.
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