The New Wimbledon Theatre can feel cold and cavernous so the first thing I’d like to say is what an unusual delight it was to see how warm, welcoming and smiley the front of house staff were. It really contributed to a fun and festive pre-show atmosphere.ALADDIN, as you probably know is the story of how a street kid in a mythical Peeking, obtains a magic lamp containing a genie who makes him rich, winning him a princess bride. This is traditionally presented as a family entertainment in UK theatres at Christmas starring male comedians as our hero’s dim brother and man-hungry mum (or dame as this role is called) No one can remember why any of this happens every year. It just does and it’s big business along with other popular pantomime stories like DICK WHITTINGTON, CINDERELLA, SNOW WHITE & JACK & THE BEANSTALK.
The casting director for Qudos pantomimes needs to be congratulated for the clever idea of casting TV and radio satirist Paul Merton as Wimbledon’s dame this year. He’s no former panto experience but his admiration for the great variety comedians of the past, panto masters, has always informed his comic timing and delight in the absurd.
As you’d expect he brings a dry wit to proceedings mentioning several times that he’d rather not be there. It’s a shame that this is such a focus of his chosen on-stage persona as in the occasional moments when he allows himself to enjoy himself he seems less wooden and rather sweet.
Your kids probably won’t know his work on TV’s HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU or Radio 4’s JUST A MINUTE so the references to both won’t interest them but they’ll certainly appreciate his outrageous costumes. His appearance as a Chinese take away is a highlight.
Joining him are celebrities Lee Ryan from the pop group Blue and last year’s STRICTLY COME DANCING. Getting a little old to play Aladdin he none the less is rather sweet in an understated way. The comedy heavy lifting is done by television magician Pete Firman who has to be extra lively to compensate for Merton’s laid back delivery and Ryan’s lack of boyish charm. He’s mostly successful but the magic is (purposely?) comic and underwhelming.
Linda John-Pierre as The Empress and Adam Pearce as Aladdin’s enemy Abanazar both belt out power ballades which are so over amplified you can’t make out the lyrics. Chorus dancers, Princess, and the Genie of the Ring do everything required of them with energy and commitment. The Genie of the lamp is a projected cartoon.... and here’s where my patience with the show wore thin.
Last year reviewing JACK & THE BEANSTALK at this same address I felt grouchy that a climactic scene wasn’t achieved with wit, panache and stagecraft but with a long sequence of projected 3D animation that the cast interacted with. This year there’s four long sections of this, for heaven’s sake, and in the final one they dispense with the cast altogether and we’re abandoned, in 3D glasses to watch a pre-recorded film sequence in which projected stuff appears to fly out at us like a tacky and dated theme park attraction.
OK the under 10s might find this exciting but you might just be left with the feeling that you could have saved yourself the cost of theatre tickets and stuck them in front of a screen at home instead.
It’s quite funny, with a tacky glamour but you may have a more fulfilling time with something smaller scale, more inventive and less dependent on celebrities.
The National Theatre’s production of Natasha Gordon’s debut play NINE NIGHT, made a welcome transfer to Trafalgar Studios this week.