The Stage

Aladdin

Published Tuesday 19 December 2006 at 16:50 by Scott Matthewman

Any production which can captivate an audience of children in the soulless atmosphere of Aylesbury Civic Centre, as this production of Aladdin does, deserves all the praise it can get.

Mark Wingett, who as the script liberally reminds us used to be in The Bill, grabs the audience’s attention from the word go with his demonic portrayal of the evil Abanazer. This is clearly a role he relishes and his enthusiasm has without doubt rubbed off on the rest of the cast.

As the romantic leads, Gary Jordan and Andrea Lynette-Young work well together, although Lynette-Young’s vocal talent eclipses Jordan’s, who struggles to pull off a rendition of the Scissor Sisters’ “Don’t Feel Like Dancing” - a difficult song at the best of times and one that seems well beyond Jordan’s natural range.

Peter John excels as a traditional (in the nicest sense of the word) Widow Twanky, while Terry Gleed’s boundless enthusiasm as Wishee Washee keeps the younger members of the audience enraptured and involved throughout.

Somehow amongst the comedy and musical numbers, director Amanda Noar manages to cram in magic and fire-eating from The Renleah Experience and a fine display of UV puppetry from Chris Convington’s Star Puppets. With topical jokes to keep the older audience members just as amused as the captivated youngsters, this is a pantomime to warm the soul.