Aladdin

Reviews

THE MAGIC of the pantomime had the audience spellbound as Blackmore Players presented Aladdin at the weekend.

As we have come to expect from this talented compact company, the entertainment came f9ast and furious in this classic tale of good versus evil in Old Pekin - actually the village hall in tiny village of Blackmore near Brentwood.

Directed by Jean Appleton, with a script written by author, Jim Sperinck, some vintage hit songs from among the world's greatest composers, a rumbustious performance from pantomime dame, Widow Twankey - Barry Kirk, again donning outrageous frocks, following his previous showing as dame Sarah in Dick Whittington two year's ago - and colourful sets, there was more than enough to keep the audience of young and old alike, enthralled to the end.

Craig Stevens was superb as nasty Abanazar, desperately trying to get his hands on the magic lamp to transform him into the most powerful sourcerer in the world; Jim O'Sullivan his usual comical self, this time as Twankey's lackey, Wishee Washee; and with towering goggle-eyed Keith Goody as the Emperor, all aided and abetted by the rest of the cast, the afternoon fairly rattled along.

For good old sentimental, yours truly, among the highlights were the songs: If I Ruled the World from Mr Abanazar; Happy Talk from the romantic couple, Aladdin (Vicky Miller), and the Princess (Amy Pudney), and I Wonder Why by the Genie of the Lamp (Mike Jefferyes), and Slave of the Ring (Barbara Harrold).

Throwing in for good measure Messrs Kirk and O'Sullivan performing Elvis Presley's All Shook Up, a dozen fluorescent skeletons dancing in the dark to Michael Jackson's Thriller, and young dancers to Stranger In Paradise, borrowed from Borodin, made the whole proceedings extremely enjoyable.

Youngsters in the audience were in particularly fine voice, trying to warn Abanazar's bungling cohorts,Ming Farz (Irene Davis), and Abdul (Sandra Marriott), to 'look behind you,' and were given a special treat when the whole cast left the stage to greet them after the final curtain.

There is nothing like a panto to put a smile on the face, and keep the blues away, and once again, the Players have really done the trick.

, Barking and Dagenham Post

Panto for most, is the first time that children come to the theatre. For me this was true; the magic, colour and interaction of the audience have never gone away and gave me the love of the theatre which I hold to this day. To celebrate their 40th anniversary, Blackmore Players chose a traditional pantomime - Aladdin; it was good to see the hall packed out with surprisingly more adults than children. Obviously, most of them were from the village, as they seemed to know everyone on stage and heckled them most generously.

The sets were very well thought out with clever side flats that turned to reveal another set. The painting and attention to detail were excellent and indeed so much work was done that I was surprised that they were only going to perform just three times. Costumes and makeup were on the whole good although some of the men seemed to have forgotten that they really did need to be wearing make up, especially Wishy Washy who should have at least done something to look a little Chinese!!

The excellent Craig Stevens made a very evil Abanazar with his wonderful ability to work the audience. From the very onset they were booing and hissing him with abandon while he made the most of it. His henchmen, Abdul el Bulbul and Ming Farz were also were very good and with their comedic timing worked well together. Young Sandra Marriott shone for me and maybe future directors should think of giving her a chance as principal boy.

Barry Kirk as Widow Twankey obviously enjoyed his role and used his facial expressions to great effect to interact with the audience who clearly appreciated his efforts. Victoria Miller played Aladdin enthusiastically, to the delight of the audience, however it is possible that she was not the archetypal principle boy. Nonetheless her romantic duets with the Princess - Amy Pudney were sung well in harmony. I just wish that the songs were a bit more modern. Even with a traditional panto the children would not have really known any of the songs and using more modern ones with changed words would have worked better. Also I felt that the chorus did not really have strong singing voices and could have possibly been helped with microphones. There was also a need for slightly more direction with the chorus, as especially in the skeleton scene, which while excellently lit with U.V., had really too many people on stage thus allowing a very limited space for movement. Using less people would have made that scene even more inventive and clever. Well done to all involved in this production, the hard work paid off and the sounds of the audiences laughter and involvement will have many generations returning to see future productions.

Christine Davidson, NODA