aladdin

Aladdin

Malvern Theatres

****

“Where’s that higher love I keep thinking of?” Soar over the Sahara with Aladdin at Malvern Theatres this Christmas to defeat the evil Abanazar on a magic carpet ride of your life through thick clouds of dry ice. Lightsabers at the ready! Now give that lamp a vigorous rub.

Loveable Aladdin, Aaron Jenson, lives with his gregarious brother Wishee Washee, Mark James, and flamboyant mother Widow Twankey, Jamie Steen, in the town of Peking.

Aladdin dreams of marrying Princess Jasmine, Joely Barbour, who is kept under close watch by her father, the Emperor, Gary Davis. “Oh no, she isn’t.” “Oh yes, she is.”

Workshy Aladdin gets head hunted by Abanazar (ooh have a banana) an evil sorcerer, to retrieve an old lamp from the Cave of Wonders in return for a magical ring and untold riches. Abanazar, John Challis, gets more than he bargains for when he is outsmarted by a lowly washerboy from Twankey’s Laundry.

With the help of Spirit of the Ring, Loula Geater, Aladdin discovers the Genie of the Lamp, Jacob Morris, and with a quick rub, the Genie comes out after two thousand years, finally. “Now the day bleeds, into nightfall” and Aladdin becomes rich beyond his wildest dreams to become Prince Ali and a suitor for Princess Jasmine.

There’s more but I wouldn’t want to give too much away. Will there be a happy ending or will Abanazar ruin this dancing love story? Does Wishee Washee get a wet bottom? Who needs to “reach for the stars?”

Expect numerous fabulous costume changes for Widow Twankey who wows in a Fairy Bottle, startles as a giant lantern and flummoxes as a birdcage. Glamour, CGI carpet sequences, choreographed lightsaber fights with the help of Alistair Bull and direction by Damian Sandys and mind blowing props with ingenuity such as PC Pong’s magnificent motor.

If you listen really carefully you may hear Boycie breaking free from those dastardly sorcerer threads and be blown away as Spirit of the Ring hits the high notes. Please don’t panic, Aladdin’s addiction to the Hokey Cokey has been rectified and he has managed to turn himself around, phew!

Aladdin is on stage at Malvern Theatres until Sunday January 5 next year. Tickets are on sale online at Aladdin or call the Box Office on 01684 892277.

Emma Trimble

13-12-19 

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