Aladdin At The Princess Theatre, Torquay Review

Reviewed by Melody Floyde

Wow, what an amazing evening of fun, laughter, singing and dancing!

We’ve just returned from watching Aladdin at the Princess Theatre in Torquay and have had the best night. We travelled to the theatre by car from Exeter and found it easily as it’s right on the seafront. We were all so excited to see the theatre lit up and surrounded by Christmas lights along the sea front which really added to our festive spirit as we approached.

We parked in the Shedden Hill car park which was a short walk to the theatre and cost £3.70 for three hours (cash or pay by phone). There is also the option to travel by train, with the station being a 15-minute walk or five-minute taxi ride away, and buses also regularly stop near to the theatre.

We were lucky enough to be given tickets for the whole family so took our sons aged 11 and 8 with us. (editor’s note – tickets to see the show were gifted to the reviewer and guest/s for the purposes of writing a review) We had seats in the stalls and had a good view of the stage, my 8-year-old was given a booster cushion which helped him to see over the people in front. There was a lovely atmosphere in the audience with everyone looking very festive and fully joining in.

The show itself was amazing and kept us gripped from start to finish with a bright and colourful mixture of singing, dancing, sets, costumes and laughter. There were some brilliant characters and we had a few favourites. Wishee-Washee (Aladdin’s brother) played by Carl Johns was so funny and really got everyone involved, the boys loved joining in with the infamous “suiii” move with him. He also bore more than a passing resemblance to Boris Johnson which didn’t go unnoticed and there were some very witty one-liners dotted throughout the evening which really got the adults (and older children) chuckling.

We loved the villain of the piece Abanazar, played by Alexander HJ Smith who was great in the role and a very convincing villain. He seemed to relish in all the boos being directed at him and we all really enjoyed getting involved with that.

Widow Twanky, played by Phil Randall, was also brilliant and the sheer number of costume changes during the show was mind boggling, each one more colourful and elaborate than the last.

Another shout out goes to Ricky Norwood who played the Genie of the Ring who was also really funny, and was our side’s leader for the audience participation part of the evening.

There were a few changes to the advertised cast due to illness with Ashley Johnson playing the role of Aladdin, and Molly-Mae Rogers playing the Genie of the Lamp. Katherine Mount played the role of the Empress but we would never have known they weren’t the main actors, they all did a fantastic job.

There were a few standout moments for us, including the twelve Devon days of Christmas song which was hilarious and chaotic and even involved toilet rolls; Aladdin’s journey on the magic carpet was really clever having been filmed in advance and shown on a big screen. As it featured Jay Edwards (the main actor playing Aladdin) the genie adlibbed saying how the carpet may make Aladdin “look and sound like a different person for a while” which was hilarious when we worked out exactly what he meant. We also loved joining in with singing Sweet Caroline (always a hit) and we really enjoyed all of the dance routines, which were wonderful to watch as the dancers were so talented.

The sets were also wonderfully colourful and a lot of work had evidently gone into them all.

The show was 2 hours 15 minutes in total, including a 20-minute interval. This was just about right as we were all totally engaged for the whole time, and were actually quite sad when it came to an end.

The show was dedicated in memory of Ruth Madoc, who had been due to play the Empress but sadly passed away earlier this week. Ricky Norwood did a lovely speech about Ruth at the end of the show saying that Ruth thought theatres should be full of light and laughter. They definitely fulfilled Ruth’s wish that “the show must go on”.

The show runs from Friday 9th December to Saturday 31st December 2022, with Christmas Day being the only day without a show, and we would highly recommend that you go along to watch it.

Rating: 5/ 5

Running Time: 2 hours 15 minutes (including a 20 minute interval)

Tickets cost from £13.00 – £30.90 depending on date and time. There is a reduction on ticket prices for Under 16’s and Seniors. Subject to a £3.80 transaction fee.

Tickets can be booked by visiting: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/aladdin/princess-theatre-torquay/calendar/2022-12-13

Address: Princess Theatre, Torbay Road, Torquay TQ2 5EZ