Aladdin

Photos

Cast & Crew

Crew

Director – Janette White
Musical Directors – Jamie Cordell, Andrew Payne
Choreographer – Aimee-Marie Bow

Review

Another triumph for The Oxted Players at the Barn Theatre in Oxted.

Aladdin at the Barn Theatre in Oxted was a surprise to me, purely for the talent displayed and the fact that it was so slick.

The dancing was extremely well “drilled” into the cast and looked very professional especially the tap routine, which was fabulous. It is always nice to see a chorus who have all learnt the moves and words as a whole, there were no weak links at all, well directed and choreographed.

Some of the song choices were a bit odd and seemed to challenge the cast in the higher notes, especially the boy band classic “Rule the World” which is written for tenor male voices but when sung by women tends to sound forced. I think the audience were waiting for more recognisable songs although the band were very good and overall the songs were enjoyable. You could tell that the cast had spent a long time learning the harmonies so well done to the musical director/s.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Dame’s solo which was carried off with just the right amount of smut and sauce without crossing the line which is something that many Dames are unable to do without losing the humour. Peter Calver was one of the best dames I have seen in panto and his ability to ad lib was much appreciated by the audience.

I thing Chris Basset has found his niche in life as a baddie. I have not seen him play this sort of role before and it fitted him perfectly, hated and loved in equal measure by the kids in the audience.

Wishy washy was part irritating and part loveable like all younger brothers are meant to be, well done Sophie.

All of the principals performed well although I did spend the evening waiting for the traditional thigh slap from Aladdin which didn’t materialise… !! I think there were a few disappointed dads in the audience.

Notable performances were those of the Dame (Peter Calver) and the Genie of the Lamp (Mark Mear). The genius of having Mark stripped to the waist, mincing about the stage is something that will stay in my mind for quite a while. But to me, Sasha Kennedy, who played the Genie of the Ring, stole the show with her superb comedic timing, she was amazing, and I spent the interval listening to complimentary comments as to how funny she was and how amazing she looked.

I really enjoyed the X Factor segment and Gangnam style dancing which was a great current reference and something the audience could participate in; the horror of those individuals dragged onto the stage was hysterical especially as one of them was my son, so thank you for the blackmail material.

The whole show was so slick which is a credit to all of the production team and backstage crew, and we always enjoy an impromptu “sweeping dance” from those tasked with clearing the stage between scenes….

The flying carpet was a good special effect, I was waiting for it to fly over the audience carrying the cast off as I have a lot of faith in the backstage crew at The Barn…. All of the stage crew did well, there were no problems that the audience would have noticed and often the crew get forgotten as you never really notice they are there until something goes wrong…I am pleased to say I didn’t notice them at all.

Credit should go to those providing the costumes and doing the makeup, the Dame’s costume alone should win an award for “most over the top” frock… And the amount of glitter smeared onto the Genie !! (It’s a dirty job but someone had to do it).

Well done to all of the performers and crew who make pantomime at the Barn Theatre such an enjoyable evening’s entertainment. I look forward to the next production.