This year’s Watford Palace Theatre panto is perennial favourite Aladdin. Transporting us from leafy Hertfordshire to the sweeping vista of our Chinese twin town Wat-a-ford, the evening proves to be a magical treat for all the family. Sticking fairly faithfully to the well-loved tale of a penniless boy who dreams of a life beyond his mother’s laundry business, the script gleefully adds more than a handful of unexpected twists and characters, not least a surprisingly articulate duck, a beat-boxing blue monkey and a startlingly well-read frog!
Louis Gaudencio gives us a cheeky, diamond in the rough Aladdin who is as happy dancing by himself in the corner of the imperial garden as he is helping his mum tackle the mountains of unappealing laundry. He shines when he’s able to deliver a little romance, such as when he whisks Princess Perfect Rose, played by a confident Diya Sohi, away on their magic carpet ride. Terence Frisch returns as Watford’s favourite dame to play the indomitable Widow Twanky. His frequent costume changes are a delight, and occasionally a concern (I shall never see belly dancers the same way again), while his Christmas cracker style gags and puns were delivered with quick fire pace.
John Henry Falle was brilliant as dastardly villain Abanazer, building a wickedly witty rapport with the audience from their first hiss and boo. Gigi Zahir doubled up as both Emperor and Genie, nicely differentiating the two roles but really shining as the camp as Christmas genie, voguing his way through some impressive dance numbers.
But the star of the night has to be the hyperactive blue monkey Wishee Washee, played with boundless energy and enthusiasm by the wonderful Kate Donnachie. Upbeat and optimistic even at the story’s points of peril, the whole audience was charmed by this cheerful chimp and the younger members of the audience will be beat-boxing and funky-monkeying for many days to come. I was lucky enough to bring my 5 year old nephew along and he was engrossed throughout, but when I asked him about his favourite bit, it was all about the monkey!
There was lots of interaction with the audience beyond the usual ‘oh no it isn’t’ and ‘he’s behind you’, the highlight being a hilarious re-imagining of The Twelve Days of Christmas featuring oodles of local references and two super-soakers! With colourful costumes, a fast paced script and a funky pop song soundtrack, Aladdin is a festive winner.
Tickets available here.
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