Aladdin

This really will be a short one. But technically it's the first piece of theatre I've seen this year so here goes.

Sadly Pamela Anderson had gone by the time we got tickets so we were left with Anita Dobson as the genie who I don't really remember from EastEnders so didn't mean much to me and although she gave it a good old go I have to admit it was annoying knowing that two days later we'd have seen Paul O'Grady. Now there's a performer made for Panto.

The other performer of note was Brian Blessed who is clearly insane. His voice is perfect for it and he's pretty good at getting the boos going as the baddy but then he'll riff, mumble a bit and then say I think that deserves a round of applause- which you always get in panto whether you deserve it or not. He was less involved in the second half and I think that's why it was so much stronger then. I had a feeling he had a tendency to adlib which is why it didn't quite fit- there was one moment where he called Widow Twankey a he and while Twankey was quick on the draw he clearly lost his place.

And that was actually what I took most from it. Widow Twankey was cracking- huge, saucy humour with good timing, sings competently and moves exceptionally well in those heels. And Wishy-washy was also clearly a panto pro, and very good at the end when they brought some kids on. And there was a policeman who was a great unicyclist and juggler and to me that is what panto is. It's music hall (or what I imagine music hall was like) and almost circus. And yet so much time was spent with two bland as can be leads poorly singing ballads and dancers who (for someone who's been watching a lot of Glee) seemed to be out of sync with each other. The little kids seemed more together.

It has however made me want to direct kids' pantos. I think the reason why they work is because they don't have to hang together particularly. No one minds if a character suddenly appears and juggles- because who doesn't want to see some juggling. Or some dancing or singing or freestyle rapping or crazy football skills. You can use it to cram all sorts into a show- and it did, it has to be said have the most fantastic set. So there's a part of me which love to write a panto for a school each year where I could pick up every little skillful and creative thing the kids have done and stuff it all into a dubious plot- put in a couple inneundos and lot it roll. Almost feels like an exercise worth trying.