Aladdin
Qdos Entertainment
Venue Cymru, Llandudno (formerly the North Wales Theatre)
****

'Boo…hiss!' Panto season is over again for another year but the tradition is still going strong and this year Aladdin was to give the punters of North Wales its seasonal feast of gags and laughs.

Matt Baker, Blue Peter’s 28th presenter stepped into the shoes of the handsome but ragged street-urchin. Actor trained at Queen Margaret’s Edinburgh, Matt is no stranger to the stage and proved it, engaging in lots of banter with the audience and showing great rapport with the whole cast. As a child gymnast he was also able to show off some back-flips and has a lovely voice to add to his never-ending list of talents!

As well as directing the production, Steve Arnott took on the role of Abanazar; suitably evil with possibly the best panto villain’s laugh I have heard in my many years of panto-going! Adam Stafford’s Widow Twankey was perfect, a role easily over-played and Robert Traynor, as the Emperor of China provided what was, for me, one of the highlights of the production. His rendition of the Jekyll and Hyde number ‘This is the Moment’ was extremely powerful yet beautiful and somewhat moving, a word I wouldn’t often associate with this genre of theatre!

Mya Close made the most of a rather bland part as Princess Jasmine and Charlotte Gooch was a beautifully mesmerising Slave of the Ring. The company of dancers were also very well cast and the young students from the Pearl Shaw School of Performing Arts were a delight as always, all choreographed by co-director Nick Winston.

However, the show was stolen by Cheshire-born comedian and all-round entertainer Peter Piper who, as well as playing alongside Baker as Wishee Washee, also doubled up as the Genie; a wonderful and clever twist to the story! Piper’s physical gags were superb, his celebrity impressions faultless and his energy and enthusiasm shone through.

With just enough audience participation, this wonderfully well written panto definitely deserves thumbs up. With a great combination of popular tunes, magnificent special effects, outrageous costumes and the appearance of Doctor Who’s tardis (!) this Aladdin was well worth a visit.

by Donna Poynton