Pantomime season returns with the aid of the famous lamp to Winchester Theatre Royal for 2021 as Aladdin by James Barry takes to the stage. Starring Libby Gore as Aladdin, Rosie Coles as Princess Jasmine and the pantomime baddie Abanazar (Ben Tolley).
Ed Thorpe in the role of Aladdin’s brother Wishy Washy engages superbly with the audience throughout the evening. With some of the best one-liners in the pantomime and his cheeky disposition he certainly raised plenty of laughs from the auditorium.
Widow Twanky’s (Julian Eardley) costumes by Beth Rose and Rachel Fox befitted the pantomime dame perfectly. Bright colours, bold patterns and articles of clothing that are put together that really shouldn’t be.
However, the “toilet humour” character names of Sargeant Poo and Pee Pee the Panda felt slightly dated and overemphasising the words in places lost the comedic impact that they were attempting to achieve and would quite often appear to fall flat on the older members of the audience.
John Waterworth Aladdin’s scenic artist created an interesting idea for the scene inside the cave when Aladdin goes in search of the lamp. In many editions of the pantomime, it is richly adorned with gold and gems. Which allowed the step on which the lamp is sat to be at the forefront of the scene.
Sadly I think this year’s production is far better suited to the younger audience members of pantomime goers. As it is likely that Older children are possibly going to find the humour and storytelling element of Aladdin somewhat childish and undeveloped in some areas. For more information and ticket sales please use the link below.
Three Stars.
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