Aladdin at the White Rock Theatre, Hastings Review
Aladdin
White Rock Theatre, Hastings
12-28 December 2014
Reviewed by Emma Salmon
As the lights went down, the unmistakable voice of Louie Spence filled the auditorium, accompanied by the excellent live musicians who accompanied the entire production, welcoming us to the opening night of the White Rock’s Christmas pantomime.
The show opened with a colourful explosion as the show’s arch villain Abanazar, excellently hammed to the rafters by Richard Foster-King, spelled out his plans to rule the world by means of a magic lamp which could be retrieved from the Cave of Wonders by a boy who was pure of heart. Within two minutes we could strike the first of many pantomime essentials from our list as he engaged us in a session of “Oh no they don’t”. To aid this evil genius were a crew of minions and a magic ring which, when rubbed, summoned a whirling, twirling, back flipping ‘Slave of the Ring’ in the form of Louie Spence, a high camp all-knowing genie devoted to celebrating the fabulous. Together the two of them set off on their quest to find Aladdin, perhaps for very different reasons.
The second in a series of beautifully painted backdrops changed the scene from Egypt to the streets of Peking. We were treated to the first of many high energy dance routines from a very tight ensemble made up of students from local schools and colleges, and a back flipping introduction to Aladdin to the sound of Pharrell’s ‘Happy’ – a good choice for the role with more than a hint of Leonardo DiCaprio about him.
WishyWashy, the jester and purveyor of groaningly bad jokes was played by Ben Watson, was obviously a stalwart of Hastings pantomime and knew how to get the local audience engaged in participation and songs – no mean feat for a wet and cold Friday night.
My son had never been to a pantomime before and the look of shock and horror on his face at the entrance of Widow Twanky, carried aloft by a team of strapping, scantily clad laundry boys, wearing a dress emblazoned with ‘OMO’ and ‘Fairy’ and topped by a bright orange bouffant, was a sight to see! With a quick repertoire of smutty innuendo a victim was soon picked from the front rows to be the target of heavy flirtation throughout the duration of the show.
The three other main characters were equally colourful – the Emperor and Princess Jasmine, clad in the most exotic and exquisite costumes, and my daughter’s favourite, the Genie of the lamp (possibly due to his finely chiselled cheekbones).
Not usually being a fan of the pantomime genre I was delighted to find that I thoroughly enjoyed the show, and was perhaps a bit too keen to participate at times! The characters were all larger than life, and the whole experience was a fabulous array of colour, amazing costumes, music and laughter, flying through the familiar story with lots of surprises and topical references. If there were any criticism I think it would be that the character written for Princess Jasmine was a little flat, especially compared to the other lead roles, and that I would have liked her to be a bit more gutsy as a female role model, but it certainly didn’t take away from a great show. It ticked all my boxes and both children thought it was wonderful – great praise indeed from an emo teen and an 8 year old addicted to XBox.
The show runs until the 28th December. If there are any tickets left snap them up quickly.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £16 to £22, family tickets from £52 to £68 (plus £1 booking fee).
Aladdin is at the White Rock Theatre in Hastings until 28 December 2014. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 01424 462288.
White Rock Theatre, White Rock, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 1JX | 01424 462288
