New Wimbledon Theatre – until 6 January 2019
Reviewed by Sabrina Fancy
4****
If you are looking for a bit of magic this holiday season with the children, come along to the New Wimbledon theatre for the panto production of Aladdin.
Aladdin is a new look at an old favourite, very different from the Disney film most audiences are familiar with. There were plenty of modern day references about Tinder, Brexit and Wimbledon-based jokes.
Paul Merton, on the hugely popular Have I Got News For You, plays one of the lead roles as Aladdin’s mother, Widow Twankey. Merton starts off a bit nervous, but a he finds his stride, eliciting lots of laughter from the audience and was most certainly, the star of the show!
Leading comedian and magician Pete Firman plays the role of Aladdin’s brother ‘Wishee Washee’. There were several comedic scenes between Merton and Firman who had an excellent rapport between them, with some of the funniest moments of the panto making for great entertainment.
The other headliner none other than boyband member Lee Ryan whose credits include being a member of Blue, and starring as Woody Woodward on EastEnders. As a fan of Blue, I was excited for the chance to see Ryan performing live. Unfortunately, Ryan’s vocals fell flat, perhaps because his characteristic falsetto was not adequately utilized.
Even when performing a slow version Blue’s hit single ‘One Love’ it seemed like a very awkward coupled with very basic dance moves throughout the performance. Ryan has not utilized any of his Strictly come dancing training and seemed uncomfortable while on stage. In contrast, Alladin’s love interest Princess Jasmine played by Lauren Chia had a role which was not very substantial. She had great stage presence and vocals but was very underutilized and would have enjoyed seeing more from her and Linda John Pierre who played her mother with powerful vocals!
The scenery and special effects in this production are really spectacular! The magic carpet ride is just sensational! The effects required the use of 3-D glasses (which are provided) and made you feel like you were a part of the adventure in Aladdin’s cave. While looking around, I saw many mesmerised children who were in awe of what was going on around them. This was truly something that children will remember and was a large part of the production.
I recommend it as an enjoyable experience for children