Theatre / Reviews
Review: Aladdin, Theatre Royal Bath – ‘Solid, but feels a little under par’
However old you are you’re never too jaded for a glitterball and the chance to believe in some magic, but panto should be seen in the company of children. When you go to see it as an adult you need to listen to the parents around you, explaining the jokes to their children and leading the tradition of shouting out. It’s part of the fun, really.
This year, Jon Monie has delivered a script over-filled with scatological jokes and more innuendo than I have seen before, so it was tougher for the adults to communicate and it took a little longer children around me to feel it was for them.
Traditional panto is not just for children though, of course. It should always contain references to what has been in the news during the year, with some local politics and geographical rivalry thrown in for good measure.
is needed now More than ever
Alex Aram as Aladdin
Jon Monie (Wishee Washee), Nick Wilton (Widow Twankey), Michael Chance (Emperor)
So we had mention of Partygate, the concept of death being better than Melksham and a nod to the Sussex/Netflix situation. There was a set piece with a piano which I am assuming was a tribute to what Volodymyr Zelensky has achieved this year, and which had the adults in stitches but left the children I was observing quite perplexed.
They did eventually enter the spirit though, and it is truly delightful to hear them desperately warning characters about the scary Mummy and literally begging Wishee Washee not to swap the magic lamp for a new one.
Jon Monie as Wishee Washee
Amy Perry (Spirit of the Ring), Alex Aram (Aladdin), Maddison Tyson (Genie)
Monie plays Wishee Washee with his usual charm – he is the perfect panto performer, who makes everyone feel like he’d be a good friend. But his front-curtain pre-walkdown set-piece with three children from the audience runs perilously close to tear-jerking for the wrong reasons…
Kaysha Nada is impressive in her first professional engagement, as a fiery Princess Jasmine. Maddison Tyson is excellent as the obedient but self-possessed Genie, with by far the best voice in the show. Alex Aram as Aladdin gives us a genuinely innocent and endearing performance but is vocally overshadowed in the musical numbers.
Kaysha Nada as Princess Jasmine
Nick Wilton as Widow Twankey and Tom Lister as Abanazar
Nick Wilton is a sadly lacklustre Widow Twankey, with very little to do – so thank goodness for Tom Lister who knows exactly what is required from the baddie Abanazar and goes all out with a combination of gusto, quick audience interaction and irony.
The supporting dance ensemble are solid, supported by an array of smiling local dance school members who fill the larger numbers confidently.
Nick Wilton as Widow Twankey with the Ensemble and Dorothy Coleborn Dancers
Jon Monie (Wishee Washee), Nick Wilton (Widow Twankey), Alex Aram (Aladdin)
The sets are fine, with a gorgeous laundry, and the three-piece pit band is clearly working its socks off the whole time.
But it just felt a little tired and under-par – which for a performance so early in the run is a shame.
Jon Monie as Wishee Washee
Aladdin is at Theatre Royal Bath from December 8-January 8; daily at either 2 & 7pm or 1 and 5pm (no performances 12, 19, 25 December or January 1). Tickets are available from www.theatreroyal.org.uk.
All photos: Freia Turland
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