REVIEW: Eastbourne's Aladdin "ripples with delight"

Magic lamps? Flying carpets? Bold heroes, beautiful heroines, and a thoroughly Wicked Uncle? Take an escapist flight to Aladdin at Eastbourne’s Royal Hippodrome Theatre, and your Christmas will ripple with delight!

Directors Alex Adams and Paul Leno-Putt draw on an expert professional company. Accomplished actor Luke Roberts has made the RHT his second home, and he delivers a brilliant Wishee, witty, engaging and pitch-perfect as the vital link between stage and audience. Paul Leno-Putt (who also co-directs) is the consummate Dame, while Alex “Abanazar” Adams draws more deafening boos with each stage-left entrance!

Another Hippodrome favourite, Rachel Cantrell, is a delight as Spirit of the Ring, while Laura-Dene Perryman sparkles as Princess Jasmine, with impressive stage command. And did we forget someone? Only the dashing, engaging Kurran Dhand in the title role! His Aladdin is lovable, credible and that tiny bit vulnerable, as the role requires.

Not that this production ever falls back on stereotypes: unless I missed it, there isn’t actually a “Give-me-the-lamp-boy” line in the script. All the characters and all the playing actually gives us the feel of real human beings – yes, with the required silly dialogue and the quota of flash-bangs.

But pantomime is all about audience rapport, and this company has it nailed. No two theatres are quite the same, and the shape of the RHT auditorium, with the nearness of the stage, gives a shared experience between performers and audience that larger spaces often fail to achieve. In every sense of the phrase, this is a family show, and indeed you never, ever visit this theatre without feeling a part of the Hippodrome family.

Panto is also about a kind of reassuring familiarity. In the Ghostbusters scene, we know exactly what will happen and when, and we know all the lines. But we still laugh out loud when Dame terrifies Ghost. And the “If I were Not in Pantomime” number is among the best pieces of slapstick this reviewer has seen in years!

Dance routines are a sparkling, swirling feast, led by dance captain Darcie Bennett and her ensemble partners Harrison Finn, Leah Rose Gardiner and Ashton Storey, and supported by a rotating (actually pirouetting!) company of over twenty ensemble dancers.

Technically, the show is absolutely stunning: this is a show to dazzle all the senses at once. Lighting is not simply a primary-colours feast, but also flexible and exactly right for the mood of each scene. The big vocal numbers fill the auditorium, and the special effects just tumble out. Reviewers should never give all the best bits away: but just keep your eyes wide as the Finale Act One reaches an astonishing technical climax!

And, of course, behind every bunch of actors there is an accomplished technical team. Probably too many to mention – there are six credited follow-spot operators for a start! And ten set constructers, ten more in the stage management crew, umpteen smiling front-of-house staff, and half-a-dozen chaperones on the juveniles’ rota. Partridge in a pear tree, anyone?

As he polished up that lamp, Aladdin’s final wish was (no spoilers) one of kindness – and a reminder that kindness always trumps power! And as all pantomimes, this one ends in radiance, warmth and an explosion of joy. At the Hippodrome, there is always a closeness between punters and performers, and this is not a show to watch from a distance. Boos and cheers, laughs and groans: Aladdin has the lot. The Royal Hippodrome Aladdin throws its arms around you in one huge, heart-warming hug.

It wasn’t so much a walk-down as a glorious riot. When performers and punters are fused as one, sharing the magic, you cast off inhibitions, trample your overcoats underfoot, dance and celebrate. Wednesday’s audience was a cross-section of Eastbourne: under-fives to over-65s. A local scout troop was in, and a couple of birthday parties, and a whole primary school class-load from Langney – their teacher suitably pilloried by Wishee from the stage. No hiding places at a Royal Hippodrome panto…

The audience literally didn’t want to go home: the entire theatre was on its feet, singing and swaying so much that you almost feared for the fabric of the Grand Old Lady of Eastbourne’s theatres. Almost. The Hippodrome is in safe hands and great shape.

Reluctantly, performers and punters waved each other goodnight and slipped off, respectively stage left or into a foyer filled with smiles. After this Aladdin production, we’ll all be the happier ever after – or at least until the next RHT pantomime, (which is Alice in Wonderland this Easter). Adams family-and-friends, you’ve done it again.

Performances continue until 3rd January.