ALADDIN

A review by Tanya Howard

If you’d have asked me a month back how long it had been since I’d been to a pantomime I’d have said years but now I’ve got a barrel of them under my belt and they’ve been paramount in getting me into the Christmas spirit. I saw Aladdin at the New Wimbledon Theatre and sadly it was a bit disappointing in comparison to some of the other offerings this year.

The whole show was not a write off as I loved Paul Merton, in his panto debut, as Widow Twanky, and Pete Firman, as her son Wishy Washy. Packing the theatre with laughs, the pair had a great chemistry and their cheeky banter had the audience eating out of the palm of their hands. Not only a great comedian, Pete is also a very clever magician and he put on some great tricks, even getting the audience involved at one point.

The highlight of the show for me was Cassandra McCowan singing Defying Gravity, in the role of Scheherazade, as she had the most incredible voice. She could definitely go toe to toe with some of the heavyweight players who have taken on the role of Elphaba from Wicked. I’m fully ready to start a petition for Cassandra McCowan to be greened up and put in the next cast run of Wicked.

Another great moment was a lengthy routine to the song “If I Were Not In Old Peking” that involved miming actions including waving a truncheon around and digging a ditch. Pete Firman, dressed as a ballerina, got the worst of it as Paul Merton repeatedly poked him in the bum on his touch your toes moment as Paul completed his policeman piece. It’s a very confusing moment to describe, but very funny to watch and very impressive on the cast’s part.

Despite holding the title role, Lee Ryan failed to soar as Aladdin, instead looking and sounding very uncomfortable on the stage. I was completely in love with Lee when he was in boyband Blue, but his singing was underwhelming on the big stage. And whilst I love The Greatest Showman and that everyone is putting their own spin on the songs I found Lee and Lauren, Princess Jasmine, version of Come Alive a big disappointment.

The special effects of the show had so much potential but fell flat for me at times, including the magic carpet ride that should have been magical but from my seat looked like an old hollowed out mattress. We were given 3D glasses to be used throughout the show when prompted by the cast, and whilst the immersive on-screen carpet ride was very impressive, all other moments using the 3D glasses for me were quite blurry and messy.

Although I found some faults with the show it could have all just been a case of first night nerves and early technical hitches. A number of the audience gave the cast a standing ovation during their final bow so I would say this was a case of personal preference. The children of the audience seemed enthralled by the whole performance, but as someone who does not have children maybe this is where the problem may lie. The show was very family friendly and if they can work out the kinks then it does have the potential to go far.

Photo Credit: Craig Sugden