Aladdin at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre - Review

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Sat 03 Dec 2022 - Sat 07 Jan 2023

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre spreads a little festive magic with its pantomime Aladdin. With colourful sets and costumes, plenty of character and a barrage of jokes, it is a crowd-pleaser for children and adults.



There is plenty of humour, mainly provided by Tam Ryan's Wishee Washee and his dame mum, Dot Twankey, played by Ian Adams. The pair bounce the jokes off each other like ping pong balls and also ensure plenty of audience participation, picking a couple of hapless guys in the front rows to be the foil of their humour.

The front row is also a risky place to be when the couple embarks on a foam fight and then brings out the giant water pistols, ensuring shrieks of laughter from lots of children.



Magic comes in the shape of Zoe Birkett's Spirit of the Ring and Duane Gooden's Genie of the Lamp. Birkett is a wonderful singer and has plenty of stage presence in her role while Gooden's Genie is a genial spirit packed full of warm-hearted humour.

Bearing in mind Michael Greco's former role as the scheming Beppe di Marco in EastEnders, he is a little underwhelming as Abanazar. Panto baddies are parts that are gifts for actors who can play up to the audience and be as dastardly a caricature as they please but Greco doesn't seem to have quite grasped that opportunity, he's actually a bit too gentle as a baddie.



Ben Cajee plays a youthful and mischievous Aladdin but one with a social conscience while Sofie Anné is a Jasmine determined to make her own choices in life.

But, of course, panto is less about the story and more about the spectacle and Evolution Productions pull out all the stops on that front with a host of sparkling and imaginative sets and costumes. Taking us from the village of Shangri-Fa into the Cobra Cave, the team also use animations created by Keyframe Productions.

After a pause for Covid, the Grand has returned to producing its own pantomimes, written by Will Brenton, and that ensures the show feels very much at home in this theatre. There is plenty of local ribbing plus a few topical political references to keep the show current.

Wolverhampton Grand has its panto down to a tee, giving the audience just what it wants. It is family festive fun in the heart of the Black Country.

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!date 03/12/2022 -- 07/01/2023
%wnbirmingham