Aladdin

Tadworth Church Pantomime Group

Church of the Good Shepherd, Tadworth

Reviewed by Tony Flook

AT only 21 years old, Andrew Nicholson is already a 'veteran' writer of pantomimes – this was his third for the Tadworth Church Pantomime Group.

Aladdin featured the characters and situations theatregoers expect. The villain was there to be booed and the dame to be laughed at for her manly frame and bizarre dress sense. Add in a beautiful princess, her stern father, a heroic principal boy, some terrible jokes and the stage was set for an evening of totally family-friendly fun.

The offstage 'performers' deserve credit for much of the success of the production, directed by Julia Elfred. Set designer Mick Elfred, together with his construction and painting teams, had worked hard to build several locations all appropriately brightly decorated. Linda Bellamy and Margarete Higginbotham's colourful costumes helped create the atmosphere.

Sound effects, including eerie echoes and dripping water, devised by Scott Negus and Callum Hawker, enhanced several scenes. The stage team, led by Andrew Nicholson and Mary Garrett, quickly changed the scenery while the action went on in front of the drapes.

Onstage, the quality of the performances understandably reflected the fact that some in the large cast had acted before, while to others it was a new or infrequent experience.

Ian Garrett was a dominant Abanazar. His gruff voice and sinisterly-bearded face together with a swirling cape left no doubt from the start that he was the meanest of 'baddies'. He also had the strongest, most positive singing voice in the team; several other performers were, unfortunately, overpowered by the band.

Geoff Pearce could have shown more assertiveness in the key role of Widow Twanky.

Adam Elfred caught attention as Wishee who, together with his brother Washee (Joanna Nicholson) hoped to find fame with his appalling jokes. Emily Cox as Princess Su-Shi, paired attractively with her suitor, Aladdin, played by Naomi Elfred.

Several players delivered their lines in too conversational a manner and some voices did not project to the back of the hall. A few actors tended to shuffle when they should have stood still or moved decisively.

The seven young girl dancers, choreographed by Deirdre Laird, showed confidence and added life to their routines, including an eye-catching tap sequence.

There were some imaginative visual gags, such as when two policemen were shrunk to pint-size in an oversized washing machine.

Everyone concerned put in a lot of effort for just three performances of a show which could have justified at least one more.