Aladdin – Tyne Theatre & Opera House

Writer: Brendan and Stephanie Healy

Director: Brendan Healy

Reviewer:Ian Cain

Aladdin - Tyne Theatre1 The enchanting tale of a street urchin who gains untold riches and the love of a princess is brought vividly to life at The Tyne Theatre and Opera House this season. Year upon year, the Newcastle Pantomime Company continue to delight young and old alike with their festive fun-filled family panto.

As usual, the cast includes many of the company’s stalwarts including comedy duo Maxie & Mitch (Maxie Peters and Billy Mitchell), Kevin O’Keefe, Catherine McCabe and Brendan Healy. And, this year, there are some very welcome additions to the cast, including former ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Emmerdale’ star Frazer Hines, Jayne MacKenzie, Jim Kitson and Kim Atkinson.

The title role is performed with aplomb by Jayne MacKenzie who, fresh from her recent acclaimed performance as Ella in ‘Looking For Buddy’, looks and sounds great as principal boy. Her renditions of ‘Shout!’ and ‘Money, money money’ are worth the admission price in themselves.

Kevin O’Keefe is no stranger to a frock, having performed as Ugly Tracy in last year’s production of ‘Cinderella’, and his portrayal of the feisty, man-hungry Widow Twanky has to be seen to be believed. As expected, the costumes are as outrageous and outlandish as you can get.

Frazer Hines excels as the loveable laundry loafer Wishee Washee and, in my opinion, really holds the show together. He has an effortless rapport with the audience, particularly the kids, and he really understands the art of performing in panto. Mind you, it would be a crying shame if he didn’t as this year marks his 28th consecutive Christmas production!

One of the North East’s top stand-up comedians, Brendan Healy, lends his gravelly voice to the role of evil Abanazar, making the character even more fearsome and he milks the booing and hissing for all it is worth. As co-writer and director of the show he, too, demonstrates a deep knowledge of the genre.

This year sees Maxie Peters and Billy Mitchell reunited as a double-act – they were split up to play Ugly Sharon and Baron Hardup, last year – and they are hilarious as the Chinese Policeman, Sergeant Ping and Constable Pong. It’s not that the routines are particularly innovative – they contain the same well-worn jokes, silly slapstick and comedy capers – but more to do with the panache with which they are performed.

Jim Kitson, who has worked with Northern Stage, Live Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, puts aside all associations with ‘proper’ acting to play the pompous Emperor of China and looks like he is having the time of his life in doing so.

Kim Atkinson also gives a spirited performance in the dual role of So-Shy and The Slave of the Ring, but Catherine McCabe is slightly under-utilsed as Princess Jasmine.

If you had a tick-list of all the traditional elements that comprise a true British pantomime, this production of ‘Aladdin’ would score top marks. There’s double-entedres, a sing-along (hilariously performed to an alternative version of ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’), sweeties thrown to the audience, a larger-than-life dame and a villain to hiss and boo at. Aladdin - Tyne Theatre

Yet, more importantly than that, this version undoubtedly proves that spectacular special effects, gizmos and gadgets, and all manner of technical wizardry employed by splashier, flashier pantomimes don’t count for everything. It is possible to stage a pantomime that relies only upon a traditional tale, madcap mayhem and a group of performers who are prepared to work their socks off to entertain an audience.