February 3rd, 2007

ALADDIN

A pantomime

By

STEPHEN DUCKHAM

This production was dedicated to the memory of GEORGE GALES

Directed by ANDREW SHONE, JUDI JONES and PETER BRADY
Musical Director: JUSTYN JONES
Choreography: RACHEL CATHERALL, SAM CHEADLE, HELEN TAYLOR

GENERAL:
Once a group gets a name for doing something well, there's no going back! It seemed to me, as I joined the queue waiting for admission, that this group's pantomime has established itself as a successful annual event. As I had hoped the matinee was packed with families and children, an audience designed to bring out the best, or the worst, in any pantomime cast.

This was my second visit to a pantomime in this year's festival. The first was to a small hall with a small chorus and dance group. The list of dancers and chorus in the programme showed me how much bigger in scale this was to be and it did indeed turn out to be lavish in setting and costumes and cast numbers. It even had its own band. But both set out to please their respective communities and there is nothing so worthwhile as to see a community being well served by the annual pantomime. We expect some larger than life but believable characters, all the fun of audience participation, clear well projected comic dialogue and some moments of visual and musical excitement! It is no light decision to perform a pantomime. Well done to BADG for doing so and for setting a standard to challenge themselves as well as being an example to others.

PRESENTATION:
If you can't find colour and lighting and sound effects, clever scenery and bright costumes in a pantomime, then you'll never find them anywhere!

SET:
Set Designers: LAURA MELLOR and ANGELA NEWHOUSE
They designed an adaptable set and used the time honoured tradition of playing in front of tabs whilst a full set was being prepared behind them. Their City of Peking had all the space, colour and feel of the East, whilst adaptation of the flats and clever additions such as the Washing Machine, quickly created a bright and suitable laundry for Widow Twankey. Interiors, such as the Princess's Boudoir and the Enchanted Cave, were as effective as they were economical and helped by free standing furniture or pieces of scenery. The entrance to the cave was pushed into position between the curtains (it took two attempts, but who's counting?) and this worked well, too.

Clearly it was all in the hands of the formidable list of names in the Stage Management Team to make it all work smoothly and clearly they should feel proud of their success!
DEBBIE DICKINSON, JULIE MARCONATO, GORDON GOODWIN, SARAH HOWSON, CLARE MORRIS, SAM WILLIAMS, LEX KEOWN, CHRIS LUCAS all helped to give pace to the production and helped the story to flow seamlessly.

LIGHTING TIM PROBERT, SEAN VIRGO and MALCOM McINTOSH

No set looks colourful and bright if not properly lit and the designers were well served by the lighting and the lighting team. Not only was the full stage awash with bright well rigged lighting, using the side and centre bars well positioned out front, but also there was imaginative use of a high tech swivelling projection lights which enabled all kinds of swirling and blue light effects to play upon curtains and costumes. It was all well cued, too, with some really quick and effective changes.
The lighting had other challenges, too, such as the special effects, flashing and chasing lights and fireworks at the end. Well done!

COSTUMES LOUISE GOODWIN, ALLISON HUNTER, and PAT O'REILLY
The set was also alive with the colours and contrasts created by the Costumes and those above are to be congratulated for what they had achieved and for such a large cast, too.
Many had been designed and made by them - the "Hunter" Dame well served in particular. But it was the sheer range and number that was impressive. The Chorus, the dancers, the Chinese dresses and the lavish black silver robes of Abanazar or the tight, flattering glitter of the Genie of the Lamp, all these showed the cleverness of design and the skill in the making. And they were just part of the range, including a comic police uniform, a glamorous Eastern princess and her court or the Slave of the Ring and the dancers. All helped to bring the set and the characters to life.

SOUND CAROLE SHONE
This wide ranging aspect was capably handled by Carole. It ranged in a versatile manner, from radio mikes balanced with music, full stage numbers, music in addition to the band, sound effects and a really good judgement on level and feel for the hall.
Nowadays it seems almost inevitable that performers will walk around with a mike on their faces saying goodbye to reality rather than sing to the music, especially as in this case they clearly had voices good enough to do so! But, that's modern technology for you and I cannot criticise a group for keeping up with the trends and doing it so well. Well done, Carole!

PROPS JEANNIE CHICK (Another genie?!)
These were an impressive and appropriate array of useful and workable props. The lamp looked so authentic (none of these cheap plastic replicas so often used) that you always believed a genie would come out of it. The range from Surf soap box to the new lamps, from truncheon to teapot, was vast and served the production well. Treasures and jewels were in abundance as were the chocolate bars thrown with abandon into the audience!
There was one thing missing perhaps - the song sheet in Chinese dropping down to help/hinder our singing!
One other query - more a production than props matter. Much is made in the author's notes about how to create the Flying carpet. Here to be honest we hardly realised they'd travelled on one. Perhaps in choosing this version of the pantomime and given all the strengths of this group, the carpet could have been a bigger feature?

FRONT OF HOUSE was friendly and the hard working volunteers provided an array of different drinks and refreshments. One quibble, perhaps? If it says doors open at 2pm, then they should. A long queue outside is no way to treat a young audience even if we oldies who queued for rations in the old days are used to it! Inside it was a different story (no ration books here!)Everything was provided for audience comfort, including an excellently produced programme. The Front of House team were in costume, too, in most cases, so well done to them and to
BOX OFFICE LOUISE and GORDON GOODWIN

ACTING
ALADDIN (ALLISON DEACON)
The Principal Boy is a staple part of a modern pantomime, so short shorts and stockings are part of that glamour, but these very high and thin stiletto heeled shoes were, perhaps, for an active "lad" a "step too far", if you will forgive the phrase! They restricted the movements and made it harder to believe in her character. Other than that Allison had everything! She had a pert, youthful singing voice and good, clear diction, with plenty of expression. Her stage presence and her singing voice held the attention of a youthful and sometimes restless audience - nicely played, Allison!

WIDOW TWANKEY (CRAIG HUNTER )
A wonderful collection of frocks and wigs helped to create the "Dame" illusion, where gender bending becomes a tradition. Craig was experienced enough to know that it works so much better with a normal male tone to the voice - not striving to use a falsetto which causes so many problems. Well judged Craig! His first orange wig, multi-coloured costume and Dame Edna type glasses captured the audience. He timed and delivered a joke so well it was almost a distraction to have a drum roll after each one! He could dance, too, with some neat little solos, and he had a quiet but effective singing voice, combined with an easy, droll delivery, so creating much of the pantomime's comic appeal.

WISHEE WASHEE (PETER FORD)
One character always has the biggest share of gaining the audience's involvement, in addition, of course, to the villain who gets it in a different way! Peter's innocent wide-eyed expression and soulful smile won them over. He faced the audience squarely, tackled restless sections with a disarming look and delivered his comic lines and his many ad-libs ("Karen") with the skill of a seasoned stand-up comic. His "I'm worried" cue never failed even when he said "I'm all of a dither"! Even when the young audience showed how little they bother about "romance", he had projection enough to be heard over the hubbub, and his ability to point a comic line was well developed. Good character, good technique, great performance, comic yet with the right hints of pathos.

ABANAZAR (WILL WOOD)
Despite the other good performances, if this player was taken away, there would hardly have been a pantomime left, so central to the story and to its impact was this towering, villainous performance! Stage presence in gallons, a rich tone, splendidly open vowels and resonant consonants, he created a larger than life character which was matched by his splendid black and silver costume, his red plume and his blackened cheeks! It was characterised from beginning to end by crystal clear diction, comic timing, presence and energy. He never flagged, so neither did the pantomime! Well played!

SLAVE OF THE RING (SIAN WILLIAMSON)
As her first appearance onstage was beside Will, it is not surprising perhaps that her voice seemed a little thin in comparison to his rich tone. Certainly after that Sian's voice gained in strength and confidence, as the nervousness seemed to go, except for traces which left some dialogue delivered a little too quickly. She created a suitably sarcastic tone which caught the note of the world weary genie and her appropriate costume captured all the traditional appearance of oriental magic. Some of her "It's behind you" lines were delivered impeccably and gained the right audience response, and her banter with the other genie showed Sian in top form!

GENIE OF THE LAMP (JOSH DONOVAN)
The youthful face in the programme hardly prepared the audience for the stage craft Josh was to bring to the role! He had everything - the body, the confidence, the athletic movement, crisp delivery of the dialogue and, of course, a really wicked way with the rap! The author says,
"Physically he should be quite stunning. He is a cool character!"
Well, Josh certainly had both. The pace and the vitality of the pantomime lifted from the moment he appeared from the lamp. Don't put him back in! Nice one!

PRINCESS JASMINE (CHARLOTTE CROFT)
Here was the Victoria Beckham style of princess, seizing a rather unrewarding role and making it her own, with charm, a bubbly delivery of the dialogue and a strong singing voice where the slightly nasal tone suited the modern style of the chosen songs. She made much of the character's stronger side but was also so romantic in the ballads that the two went together, creating a strong "principal girl". Her shoes were flat so maybe height difference was a reason for Aladdin's stilettos (?). Charlotte's shoes helped her make some deft movements.

NOTSOSHY (GEORGINA BOLD)
Not sure whether Georgina or the Directors decided to play this character with such charm, rather than "Jolly Hockey Sticks type! Some of the best diction of all the younger players, stage presence with that rare ability to hold the attention without seeming to have to try, and sufficient projection to keep the scenes with Wishee going over a cacophony of younger audience voices. Of course, there was a downside. The horsy character comedy was missing and when lines like "Very strong for a handmaiden" are left in, it makes Georgina's task the harder. She's clearly a future Principal girl rather than a comic partner to Wishee, despite some good delivery of some comic lines!

THE EMPEROR (TERRY WALKER)
I'm probably wrong because I don't know the company very well, but perhaps Terry is a sharp actor in plays? As a result, he was realistic, here, perhaps even a little too realistic for pantomime and so missed some of the comic possibilities in this "fussy and authoritative father figure". Father figure he was, but authoritative in a rather understated way. His delivery was quiet in places although it was often very droll and in character. But, overall, he needed to be more forceful, rather like a sort of Chinese version of the Mikado from "The Mikado".

SERGEANT CHOP (AMY KEOWN)
Part of the comic duo that in the end had to work very hard to be funny! Amy was the one giving the straight lines. She tried to be full of "self importance" but was not given many good lines to do it with. Her voice was clear and her stage presence full of confidence. The character was lively and delivered with skill lines like,
"A suitor for her hand will be sought" so that Suey could ask "What about the rest of her?" Her physical comedy was good as she was quick, deft and clever in her movements, in the "chase" for example. She was confident in her approach to the audience - able to lead them well in routines like "Oh no you're not" although slightly hindered by the hair over one eye!

P.C.SUEY (JONATHAN HUNTER)
He was the funny one of the duo and although, with drooping moustache and the thick glasses he tried too hard to be so, he had some good well deserved comic climaxes, having built up to them with tireless energy! His timing of physical business - the truncheon for example, was as sharp as his timing of his outrageous jokes,
"On the other hand it might turn cold".
The delivery was good, too, on lines like that, with clear diction and good emphasis, although it was sometimes just a little too quick. Good rapport with the audience which could perhaps have been even greater with ordinary glasses that did not take his expressions away by loss of eye contact.

THE CHORUS
All those in the programme were part of the show, so I will list them, although as with the dancers there was, I think, some alternation according to the particular performance.
LAUREN FAULKNER,LINDSEY GRAHAM,ANNABEL SHARMAN,BETHANY STATON,LEANNE FOULKES,LUCY THOMAS,JADE SHAW,MONIQUE NEWHOUSE,ELLIOT PLACE,TAMSIN BOLD,KIRSTY DOUGLAS,MELANIE WILLIAMS,JAMES LAWSON,CHARLIE LAWSON,JESSICA CAVENDISH, ANNABEL LEEDING, CHARLOTTE BROWN, CATHERINE PEARSON,BETHANY SPENCER, CHEALSEA BOULTON.
How wonderful to have so many to put on stage throughout the run! I t meant so much for the street and palace scenes to be able to dress the set with well costumed groups of "engaged" responsive young players. Those who had lines to say generally delivered them well, usually avoiding the natural tendency to say them too quickly. And the singing… well obviously the ones with radio mikes helped create volume, but in reality the voices were all strong. The pre-scene number by four singers was excellent and this ensemble singing was a strong feature of the whole show. Well done to this talented, animated but well disciplined chorus.

THE DANCERS
Again there was alternation but the whole ensemble was
TERRIE ABLETT,PHILIPPA BAINES,ABIGAIL BAINES,DEANNA BODEN,DAVID BURKE, RHIAN CUNNAH,SOPHIE DAVIES,AMI DICKINSON,LEANNE EVANS-JONES,HANNAH GRAHAM,RACHEL HARRISON,LAURA HEWITT,LAUREN JONES,ZAKHIA REILLY,EMILY RICHARDS,FAYE SPENCER,LOUISE THOMAS, SION WILLIAMS.
Now this really was the area where BADG are a cut above the normal pantomime! The programme thanks WENDY and RACHEL (one of the choreographers) CATHERALL and THE ELSBER SCHOOL OF DANCE, and this may well be where these talented dancers acquired the level of training and technique that they demonstrated. Two dancers, male and female, produced some dancing worthy of a national dance company - athletic and expressive, whilst the Nymphs of the Nile captured all the exoticism of the scene, with talented tap dancers dancing to the "Sheik of Araby" - all excellent. Importantly, too, these dancers smiles and reacted with the other pantomime characters. They were part of the whole, not just bolted on, something that often happens in shows of this kind. Well done to them all!

PRODUCTION ANDREW SHONE, JUDI JONES and PETER BRADY
Harnessing all the strands of a production of this scope and size must have been very demanding - no wonder there are three directors credited! I cannot guess what rehearsals would have been like - well done to all three who directed this slick, fast moving show, full of tricks, colour and effects and with a good general level of acting and performance.
ACT ONE
Scene 1
The audience's attention was grabbed effectively by the singers with radio mikes at the front and the band behind the screens. This was continued with the spectacular figure in black and silver and red - Abanazar, who was well placed stage left. His superb rolled consonants made the drum roll seem less dramatic but it helped the slave of the Ring to pop out from stage right. Perhaps these appearances, given the resources of this group, could have had more of a "flash" or a "pop", even allowing for Health and safety concerns? The Slave swallowed a few words but Abanazar's diction never faltered and he made the most of the "r" sound in words like, "Brilliant".

Scene 2
The curtains opened on a full stage set of the City of Peking (Beijing, as it is now). Not only were the solid pieces of "house" scenery well placed - the "Laundry" etc - but so were the chorus to give a good stage picture, helped by the wonderful Chinese costumes. The Chorus froze nicely for the dancers to perform - an expressive use of arms and legs -and there was lusty singing, enhanced by some radio mikes. The flashing blue light and the theme of "The Bill" helped to establish the unlikely couple of Sergeant Chop and PC Suey. Some well timed comedy ensued and the exit was accompanied by the drum beat. Voices came from chorus members - a little quiet in places but some were quite expressive.
Aladdin made the most of good diction to deliver some good lines. The Chorus had some good stepping and turning movements in groups and the sound effect of the crashing cycle heralded a good entrance by Wishee, his different coloured socks helping to establish his character. He soon involved the audience, seizing on the unfortunate "Karen" who became a recurrent theme in his routines directed at the audience. It was almost Cilla Black,
"Lorra, lorra bother"
but razor sharp as he upbraided a latecomer,
"Come in - you're just in time!"
Sound effect was established as a theme as he drank his tea, sustained throughout with only the occasional miss! Audience response was rather half hearted when Wishee seemed to confuse "all of a dither" with "worried". After that it never faltered. There was another appropriate sound effect as his hand shook. Wishee showed his confidence with ad-libs to the audience.

The appearance of Widow Twankey was impressive. The joke about Cherie Blair kept the banter topical, but the drum effect - clever and well timed as it was- proved rather distracting rather than helping the comedy. The washing line joke was not too elaborated but worked well.

The lighting dimmed for the entry of Abanazar. The Slave of the Ring took her first line too quickly, but was much stronger with the audience in "It's behind you" routine. Still not quite sure why Abanazar resembled Elton John, unless it was his robe, but then that's pantomime! As is the inevitable, but well delivered line from Twankey,
"Knickers are down"
Abanazar's voice made the most of "Filthy Rich". Stage positions were nicely separated although the line on stage right was rather a straight one. An evil leer from Abanazar as he left reminded us he was the villain.
The Chorus entered cleverly from various entrances - good stage direction there. Some comic business with the Emperor and the truncheon and the positions on stage continued to be well spread and varied. The dialogue about cash etc seemed to bring out some hesitation in the Emperor. Jasmine's modern hairstyle partly hid her face when she turned to Aladdin. There was a good lighting change and some strong vocal work by Aladdin and Jasmine, accompanied by a recorded backing. A great duo of dancers with balletic movements and plenty of lifts and strong leg work. Notsoshy did her best with
"Thumbscrews… I was only saying".
The Chorus froze nicely in response to the spell, followed by a lively chase as Abanazar moved to front of tabs for

Scene 3
The light playing on stage area right added to the genie effect for the Slave of the Ring. Quick dialogue and the audience added the right number of boos. Wishee made the most of the tea drinking business, with ad-libs like,
"Who said you can only get an 'oo' with Typhoo?"
The scene was totally built round audience participation, with Chop and Suey and the "Oh no we're not" routine amongst others, some pert lines from the Chorus and a lively song "Friends" with six animated singers and a slightly quieter Twankey, who also had a neat little dance.

Scene 4
This took place against partly opened curtains and a table and chair for the boudoir. Jasmine gripped the back of the chair in a rather un-princess like way. She sat in the chair for the start of the song and then built it up by standing up for the latter part of it.

Scene 5
Here the dialogue gave Wishee a chance to pick up the flagging pace and the comedy with Notsoshy was good - with adult jokes about the bra top hopefully going over the heads of the younger members of the audience. There was a strong little routine for the "miles away" "half brother" and the like but Notsoshy held her own with the joke about her name.
The police had some effective physical comedy - running on the spot and off through the audience.

Scene 6
This opened on a full set with an elaborate washing machine upstage and a sign "Do Not Overload" (oh yes, you knew it would be….). The big brush had BADG written on it, so they do have a group in Peking, after all. There was a good chorus number "Hard up life". Wishee seemed to save the day as Twankey jumped some lines,
"We haven't got that far yet!" Quick, sharp impersonations of Brucie and others were rustled up by talented Wishee for the audience to guess. Tension built as the characters each brought in some washing. Twankey did a "drunk on gin" comedy and although there wasn't much powder in the Surf box, it produced masses of suds. Lighting flashed on it and it built to a lively climax as the curtains closed.

Scene 7
There was, it has to be said some distracting "fiddling" with the curtains to get the "Cave" in place! Aladdin's superb diction again helped the comedy with jokes like,
"They hear a lot of twaddle".
The drum and flashing lights added conviction to the movement of the stone (well, just about!) the quick visual comedy worked
"I'm in…I'm out again." And music covered the change to the full set in

Scene 8
Pieces of scenery were well spaced for the scene, including the stone with the lamp on it. This was set upstage so that a very knowledgeable girl in the audience was able to anticipate,
"It's behind you!"
The Genie's entrance, after all the build up in previous dialogue, might have been more impressive technically, but he was himself impressive with a slickly delivered rap. The eight performers joined them for a great number with a Madonna look-a-like showing star quality! Aladdin was quickly clothed in robe and turban, and a well placed spot on the central rostrum produced a good finish with the lamp.

ACT TWO
Scene 1
Chinese lanterns dressed the set as the Chorus shook hands etc and sang "Together" as a rousing opener - the group DSL seemed to produce most of the sound, those on the right were quieter. There was a good lively line from a chorus member in blue. Wishee and Notsoshy valiantly kept up the dialogue over the noise of a restless number of children, hyped up perhaps by the interval and still treating a stage performance as something like television in front of which you can talk and move about! There were nice touches - the Chorus turned away to hide their faces when the Princess appeared. Wishee was at his best with lines like,
"could be excommunicated"
Twankey certainly was "too sexy for my clothes" as he appeared in pink wig and lights in his dress. A well delivered line,
"Very strong for a handmaiden"
was not so funny because Notsoshy was not that sort of strong sporty girl! Lights dimmed on cue,
"Broughton… hasn't paid the electricity bill"
for Aladdin's rather less dramatic arrival. Jewels on cushions etc added to the opulence and there was good full stage grouping. Everyone moved back and forward to the music, with lights flashing and chasing red, blue, orange, for a spectacular build up and good vocal work from the Genie.

Scene 2
Abanazar and Aladdin and the Genie played with pace and gusto in front of the curtain. There were fresh clothes for Twankey and Wishee, the established running routine for the police and Twankey excelled with jokes like
"Pancakes".
Scene 3
This revealed a good palace set, using some impressive pillars and the sky beyond. The Emperor's droll delivery just managed the humour on
"I think we're all agreed on that".
Abanazar appeared with menace, preparing for the scene about new lamps for old. The three onstage played the scene with pace (wouldn't Jasmine have covered her face when admitting a stranger?) The yellow light rippled effectively on the Genie with an appropriate crash of thunder as the powerful scene ended.

Scene 4
Notsoshy was in fine voice for "A Terrible Thing" and her narrative was clear. The police made what sounded like an ad-lib to cover missing dialogue,
"Do you think we should sort him out, Emperor?"
The lack of a real carpet effect was disappointing but the dialogue flowed nicely into

Scene 5
This was an exotic setting and a chorus of dancing girls, suitably dressed for the eastern court, were clever in their movements and performed a great tap number and plenty of other lively actions. Abanazar, too, was lively and clear, the attendants in fez hats were disciplined and the Genie had plenty of expression in his delivery of the line,
"'Cos he has got the hots for you".
Twankey said they had travelled in the cargo hold, but I thought they had exited through the First Class exit in last scene?
There was a sound effect as Twankey drank the gin. Of course one was expecting the police to bump into each other as they moved backwards and they did - good physical comedy here! The dialogue id written in short lines here but the cues weren't quite fast enough to make the most of them. The Mummy and "Behind you" sequence worked well. The grouping was good here, well spread and helped by vigorous movement and lighting effects, "Hot as fire" worked well.

Scene 6
Good vocal work here from the Genie and the Slave of the Ring who seemed energised by the presence of a fellow Genie. Twankey had a green wig to set off her dress and Wishee did his best with the awful joke
"wing the wong number"
None of the suggested tricks with a song sheet were tried but the audience liked the list of names of visiting audience members and the old split down the middle contest was effectively done with no modern inhibitions about throwing the chocolate bars at the audience!

Scene 7
This had everyone and everything in addition to Abanazar's rap dance! Four singers came down to front for a song and the rousing vocal work was capped off by two fireworks at the front (The Director had to be there to keep those wandering children away from them). It was a bold device to use in a packed hall!

CHOREOGRAPHY RACHEL CATHERALL, SAM CHEADLE, HELEN TAYLOR
This was an integral part of the Production and added so much to the longer scenes, with colour and verve, clever routines and some great partnership dancing. It was choreography which lifted the overall quality of the pantomime because unlike many of them, this choreography was adventurous, too. Well devised!

MUSIC Musical Director: JUSTYN JONES, Saxophone SARA PARKINSON, Bass and Guitar: MARTIN HOWARD and Drums and Percussion: DAVE COPPACK
This was a major component of the Production. The Band added zest and sparkle to it all, handling the mixture of modern styles, recorded music etc in their stride. It was a good beat, disciplined and obviously Justyn had trained and inspired the singers to perform equally well. Even the drum beats and sound to accompany a joke added a personalised and well rehearsed touch!

ENDEAVOUR, ORIGINALITY and THEATRICAL ATTAINMENT

I thought a matinee would be the real test of a pantomime and how right I was! The endeavour of everyone in handling such a lively young audience - both of those onstage and those offstage, front of house - was considerable.
This group clearly has stamped its own original features onto the pantomime genre and built up a big and loyal audience base. The quality of the dancing, the spirited music, the well judged stage positions and the generally lively dialogue are now what an audience has come to expect from BADG. These were theatrical attainments of a high order, with a well rehearsed Chorus and a large cast of confident players adding to it all.

The attainment of the major players - the splendid Abanazar, the charming Aladdin, vigorous Genie, full blooded Dame and inventive Wishee, to name but a few, brought pace and energy to it all. The staging was colourful and the endeavour and attainment in the stage management was plainly of a high order, too.

There were extra touches which such a group might have added - the magic carpet, some of the suggested set pieces in the script - but the rapport with the audience, the sound and lighting effects, the scenery, props and costumes, the excellent choreography with all its originality and the live music - all these carried us away for an hour or so and the final fireworks - well you can't get much more original than that!
Well done, the Directors, Andrew, Judi and Peter and everyone else involved. What a pity it only comes round once a year!

GARTH JONES

Adjudicator 2006/2007