Great news! The bestest baddie is in town and while his magic is tragic and his dancing pretty ropey too, he’s an absolute cracker and the star of the show.
Who is this evil one? Well horrible old Abanazar, of course, the king of naughty in the Theatre Royal Bath‘s festive production of Aladdin, and what a treat he is. Played with absolute glee by Tom Lister (of Emmerdale fame), it’s no surprise that Tom won Best Villain in the Great British Panto Awards in 2016.
And what’s even better, the rest of the cast are pretty good too, with Bath favourite Jon Monie acting as both scriptwriter and Wishee Washee, Nick Wilton back in high heels and grand gowns as the dame Widow Twankey, and Amy Perry as The Spirit of the Ring.
The result is an old school, traditional panto with loads of fun, lots of silliness and surprisingly large amount of naughty humour too. And yes, the old favourites are included, including the ghosts and the bench sketch, singalongs, a fair bit of audience participation and lots of ‘oh no he isn’t’ all for good measure. All in all, a perfect family festive treat.
So you know the plot – Aladdin falls in love with Princess Jasmine and in an attempt to get enough wealth to marry her, ends up the possessing the magical lamp – genie and all – despite the evil-doings of Aba-banana. Along the way, of course, there is magic, romance, lots of singing and plenty of jokes.
One of the best parts about this production is that all of the parts are beautifully played, including the ensemble. Alex Aram and Kaysha Nada are superb as the young lovers Aladdin and Princess Jasmine, while Maddison Tyson is charming as the Genie of the Lamp. Special note must also go to the children of the Dorothy Coleborn School of Dance who are outstanding in the ensemble.
Now, of course, every panto has a few risque jokes which generally fly above the kids’ heads while mum and dad enjoy a little snigger. For this production of Aladdin, however, there seemed to be significantly more than usual, including an unforgettable, and admittedly very funny scene, where Aladdin and his brother play a piano duet without the use of their hands as only naughty brothers could.
Was it too much? Absolutely not – as someone once said, it was all done in the best possible taste, with everyone seeming to enjoy the fun. Add in a fair few jokes at the expense of local residents – including a threat to banish one of a character to Melksham – parties in Downing Street and even a reference to a certain Royal related Netflix series, and it all added up to a good old night of jokes bad and good, and all the better for it.
There’s something charming about the Theatre Royal Bath panto. This is generally due to less of a reliance on super hi-tech special effects and the biggest stars around, and more about great performances and clever scripts. Aladdin keeps up the tradition in fine form – top notch panto fun and the just the thing to get you in the Christmas spirit.
Aladdin at the Theatre Royal Bath runs until 8 January 2023. For more details and to book tickets, go to www.theatreroyal.org.uk