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Esther Foga as Princess Jasmine and Ilya Akinfiev as Aladdin Aladdin Worcester Repertory Company ***** Ian Good comes up with the goods again! Once again the Christmas season is blessed with a hugely entertaining pantomime at the Swan Theatre in Worcester in 2024! This colourful, pacy and lively production was full of the usual puns, frolicsome fun and romantic escapism! The fairy tale of the ordinary boy who falls in love with the beautiful princess and overcomes the magical machinations of the villain Abanazar provides the basic plot. Abanazar with his magic ring aspires to acquire the magic lamp from the depths of the mountain cave, in order to become the all-powerful master of the universe. However the magic of love finally overcomes. All the traditional ingredients of pantomime are present in this production. The young couple played by Esther Foga as Princess Jasmine and Ilya Akinfiev as Aladdin are wonderfully youthful and charming; they sing well together; Esther has a powerful and wonderful voice. Nathan Blyth returns to the Swan as Wishee Washee and is delightfully playful and cheeky; Aaron Corbett is the put-upon Sergeant Pod; Aimée Cupper is the spirit of the Ring, the reluctant servant of the villain Abanazar; with her cheeky insolence she wins the hearts of the audience.
Sean McLevy, looking like a distant cousin of The Mekon, as Abanazar Sean McLevy as Abanazar achieves the perfect degree of malice to avoid upsetting the sensitive in the audience. Ian Good combines the direction with the key role of pantomime dame, Widow Twankey. His playfulness, timing and frequent costume changes are excellent. These principals are complemented and supported by a great ensemble cast which includes Megan Coates whose choreography is delightful, incorporating young local dancers and Raman Parwana whose breakdancing, acrobatics and solos were fantastic. These performers are all wonderfully supported by the brilliantly colourful costume, frequent scene changes – I particularly liked the mountain cave – and musical jollity and charm provided by Rudy Percival and his musicians. All of the traditional gags were produced - the puns, the songs, the local allusions, with all the audience participation. The atmosphere was perfect for a very responsive school audience. The whole team seemed to be having fun and it was all innocent family and escapist entertainment. Aladdin runs to 05-01-25. Tim Crow 10-12-24 |
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