REVIEW: Aladdin, Salisbury Playhouse

By Jane Sullivan

SALISBURY’S annual pantomime always delivers: bright, tuneful, funny and with an essential sprinkling of glitter, the Playhouse panto doesn’t rely on celebrities or lavish effects to pull in the crowds, preferring instead to opt for good old-fashioned family entertainment.

This year’s Aladdin, written by Andrew Pollard, is traditional to the tips of the evil Abanazar’s pointy toes, but cleverly weaves in enough modern touches to appeal to today’s TV-tuned generation.

There are references to Honey G, Donald Trump, and the mannequin challenge, and the songs are all catchy arrangements of hits by artists like Katy Perry, Take That, and Simon and Garfunkel.

The traditional characters are also given a contemporary edge. Tyler Fayose is a particularly ripped Aladdin – as my teenage daughter admiringly noted – with dance moves almost as impressive as his six-pack. Rebecca Hazel is a feisty, karate-kicking Princess Jasmine, and Melissa Brown-Taylor and Nerine Skinner are both beautifully bootylicious and gorgeously geeky as the genies. Lynden Edwards is a boo-tifully bad Abanazar, who has the audience hissing and jeering with gusto.

Packed with high-energy song and dance routines, Aladdin has the audience clapping and singing along all the way through, and there’s plenty of interaction across the spotlights – particularly from Richard Ede’s wonderful, wise-cracking Widow Twanky. His duet with Fred Broom’s verbally-challenged Emperor is the highlight of the evening – their performance of ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ had the audience in tears of laughter and ended to rapturous applause.

There are some fine voices all round; Princess Jasmine and Aladdin are particularly impressive singing Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.

With a fine supporting cast of young performers from Salisbury, eye-catching costumes and sets and even a proper flying carpet, this year’s Playhouse pantomime is a cracking show. It’s everything a Christmas panto should be, and will leave all the family feeling festive and full of good cheer.

Aladdin is at the Salisbury Playhouse until January 7, 2017.