Aladdin at the Grove Theatre Dunstable Review
Aladdin
Grove Theatre, Dunstable
8 December to 2 January 2017
Reviewed by Sandra Mcghee
Last night I had great pleasure being asked to review Aladdin (Christmas Pantomime) produced by Magic Bean Productions at the Grove Theatre in Dunstable. I took my 12 year old daughter with me and upon taking our seats in Stalls E we instantly felt so much excitement all around us in the audience. There was the usual audience which you would expect ranging from little ones to more mature audience.
Not sure where do I begin on telling you how the evening went (not giving out too many spoilers though) as there is so much to tell! You really need to go and decide for yourself and there will be no regrets. Aladdin is a Middle Eastern folk Fairy Tale which most people know the story of. The cast illustrated the story extremely well, the show was fantastic and one of the best pantos to date, each year the pantos get better and better.
I hadn’t seen any of the cast perform before so was delighted getting to know them in action. Lots of booing for Abanazar played by Brian Capron (well-known actor), Aladdin, Joe Ashman and Princess Jasmine by the beautiful Olivia Chan. Widow Twankey, played by Kieran Sutcliffe (fantastic), Wishee Washee, my favourite character played by Ed Petrie (Children’s TV presenter) and I thought also great comedian. Last but not least, another beautiful lady Sarah Jameson (best known for her appearance on Britain’s Got Talent), who I think deserved the most applause as she played the duo part of Genie and her sister The Slave of the Ring, it was exhausting just watching her run on and off stage changing her outfits etc. A perfect performance illustrating her parts in the show.
The show was what you would expect from a typical pantomime including the Twelve Days of Christmas, water guns, catapulting and throwing sweets, picking on random people in the audience (be warned if you sit too far near the front). Plenty of laughter and plenty of adult humour which thankfully my daughter didn’t quite get. Never had such a good laugh in ages. The ensemble dancers all looked so happy and proud to be part of the local pantomime and all well co-ordinated in sequence. Beautiful outfits and costumes and the scenery were all really well put together, it was obvious a lot of hard work had been put behind the scenes thinking of absolutely everything which was perfect.
My favourite scenes included involved a few balloons (so funny) the magic carpet ride was fantastic and I was particularly impressed with the cave scene. All in all a really great bit of entertainment for the family, a great treat for Xmas/New Year. Guaranteed laughter for everyone.
Spectacular, funny and very entertaining.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £15.50 t0 £25 (booking fees may apply).
Aladdin is at the Grove Theatre in Dunstable until 2 January 2017. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 01582 602080. For the latest panto news, visit www.dunstablepanto.com.
Grove Theatre, Grove Park, Court Drive, Dunstable, LU5 4GP | 01582 602080
