Pantomimes are like buses – they always come along in groups. The second panto review on the Londoneer this year is Aladdin at the O2, a refresh of the 2010 production from Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre starring Lily Savage.
Set inside a pop-up space specifically constructed for the run under the O2′s dome (complete with fly tower I note) this production follows a fairly traditional route, although it takes China as it’s setting rather than Arabia.
Lily makes a welcome return to the stage as Widow Twankey – Paul O’Grady’s creation is as acerbic and vicious as ever, gets to tell most of the dirty jokes and relishes the opportunities afforded by the script to tear chunks out of members of the audience (a tattooed ‘Pauline’ in the second row got most of the vitriol at the performance we attended). He/she is as good, if not better, than you remember.
Alongside Lily we get Jon Lee (the S Club 7 star who now has a successful career in theatre) as Aladdin – he’s certainly dynamic enough on stage but a little unconvincing as the love interest for Princess Jasmine (played by Marissa Dunlop). Darren Bennett does a good job of chewing the scenery as the black-clad bad guy Abanazar, while Issy Van Rankdwyck and Delory Atkinson (a regular face at the Theatre Royal Stratford East) play the lisping ‘Slave of the Ring’ and the butch ‘Genie of the Lamp’ respectively. Matthew Rixon and Andy Spiegel have some of the best lines of the show playing Police Constables ‘Ping’ and ‘Pong’ – Spiegel’s fey, limp-wristed performance is particularly fun.
As you’d expect, production values for this outing of Aladdin are very high indeed – there are great sets and countless costume changes (one just for the curtain call where the entire cast are decked out in white and gold) and you’ll believe a boy can fly when Aladdin inexplicably shoots out over the audience on his flying carpet. There’s also a very capable 12-strong dance troupe who fill in as passersby, guards, harem girls and washer women.
It’s not all sunshine and sparkles in this production of Aladdin however, as the pop-up setting itself presents some problems – the seating is extremely basic, the bar is miniscule and, in order to prevent this huge space from dropping to the ambient temperature outside, the audience has to contend with the constant muted roar of heating fans at the rear of the auditorium throughout.
Ticket prices are rather steep too – the best seats in the house will set you back an eye-watering £59.50, although you can find tickets for a rather more reasonable £23.50 if you shop around.
Would I recommend Aladdin at the O2? If you’re a fan of Lily Savage then I probably would – given Paul O’Grady previous pronouncements on the subject, this appearance could conceivably be her last.
There are alternatives of course – if you’re just looking for a decent thigh-slapping panto without the cache of Paul O’Grady on the cast list then the Theatre Royal Stratford East or the Hackney Empire will be perfectly adequate (and cheaper) alternatives.
You can find tickets for Aladdin at the O2 here online. The show runs until January 5, with matinees available on most dates.
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