Performance Run: Saturday 19 December 2015 - Sunday 31 January 2016

Performance Reviewed: Tuesday 22 January 2015 (Press Night)

“All that’s left for me to say is you’ve been... you’ve been... well, you’ve been, that’s the important thing.”

It’s a perfectly pitched, characteristically dry close from Julian Clary as he brings the Birmingham Hippodrome’s 2015 panto of choice, Aladdin, to a close, bedecked in another outrageous, gloriously over-the-top costume creation that would have Lady Gaga reaching for her meat dress in envious rage. Not a million miles away, at the City’s Barclaycard Arena, Bradley Walsh, Paul O’ Grady and friends have stolen away the Hippodrome’s previous tagline of ‘the UK’s biggest panto’ with their colossal take on Cinderella. However, whereas that overblown, over-produced spectacle is simply too big for its own good, the magic of panto drowned in such an overly expansive venue, Aladdin at the Hippodrome grants the big three panto wishes in style - it’s big, it’s fantastic to look at and, crucially, it is very, very funny.

Much of the humour this year round comes from the returning Matt Slack as Wishee Washee, a comedic tour-de-force whose humour runs practically the whole gamut - there’s physical slapstick in there, impressions, wordplay, plenty of the typical local ribbing (the most frequent foils being nearby Dudley and Black Country) and the energy, timing and execution of them all is faultless. On the evening reviewed, Slack audibly suffered from a hoarse voice, with Clary at the end clarifying he will soon be ‘sucking on a Fisherman’s friend’ for those concerned, and yet his energy levels never dipped throughout. Seeing that Slack is once again returning for panto duty in 2016 for the Hippodrome’s production of Dick Whittington comes as no surprise - he is almost incomparably good at this panto lark and long may his appearances at the Hippodrome continue.

Equally funny, however, is the aforementioned dry wit and hilarious side-sniping contempt of Julian Clary. If, in last years review of Cinderella at the Wolverhampton Grand, I noted that Clary seemed somewhat tired, and dare I say it, coasting, he is back on terrific form here in Birmingham. From his endless supply of double entendres to blisteringly poking fun at the ludicrousness of practically everything throughout, the energy is definitely back and Clary, as the ‘Slave of the Ring’ (trust me, it’s milked for all it’s worth) definitely brings an edgier, wittier bite to the show, and an extra flavour to the funny that the adults in particular will find both welcome and hilarious. Plus, the sight of him re-enacting Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’ dance routine or Johnny Cash’s ‘The Ring of Fire’ is too barmily wonderful to describe.

Rounding out the cast, Lee Mead is a handsome and dashing Aladdin, getting to showcase his powerful, sumptuous voice throughout, whilst there is naturally plenty of light-hearted fun made of his musical theatre background, particularly his rise to fame playing Joseph. The ever-reliable Landi Oshinowo makes an appearance as a stern Empress, her powerhouse vocals given the chance to shine early on, whilst Andrew Ryan is the perfect pantomime dame, wisely pitching his Widow Twankey at the younger audience (with Clary dominating the more adult material). Ryan’s tag-teaming and comedy pairings with Slack are particularly fun - such as an extended ‘apple’ watch gag that I shan’t spoil with specifics, and a war of wordplay between the pair and Marti Pellow, featuring plenty of laugh-out-loud corpsing.

Speaking of Pellow, he makes his panto debut with gusto, surprisingly dramatic and extremely effective as villain-of-the-piece Abanazar the sorcerer. Pellow plays his part relatively straight, again well judged given the roster of comedic talent that bounce off of him, and he certainly makes for a fantastic, boo-able pantomime villain. Pellow gets a couple of musical set pieces of his own, his inner pop star momentarily taking front and centre as the character croons sinisterly about himself (naturally).

This being a QDOS pantomime, it is unsurprising that the standard of production on display here is nothing short of superlative. This is panto writ-large and done right, from West End-worthy staging, costume and lighting design, an exciting 3D video sequence which elicited plenty of jumps and shrieks from the audience (3D glasses provided) through to a plethora of one-use practical set pieces and special effects which eclipse anything the competition offers. To go into too fine a detail would be to ruin the show, but you know when you get an extended cameo appearance from a fully sized and operational King Kong within the first ten minutes, this is a show which is sparing no expense and pulling no punches in the audio-visual design department. Once again, the Hippodrome firmly cements itself as the go-to destination this Christmas and New Year for all your pantomime needs.

Another visually stunning, exciting, hilarious and masterfully executed production, Aladdin is a very easy recommendation, and whilst it is a trifle old hat and glib to proclaim how it offers something ‘for the whole family’, nowhere is that more true than here. Within the immediate vicinity of my seat, there were audience members from (very) young children through to pensioners all equally doubled over in laughter and swept along on the joyous, whimsical ride, and nobody can deny the scope and attainment of what QDOS once again bring to the Hippodrome stage. So clap your hands and rub your ring in excitement, for all of your panto wishes have been granted - Aladdin is a delight of a magic carpet ride for all ages and it doesn’t take a genie-us to figure out that it’s an absolute must-see this Christmas.

Now excuse me, I need to go lie down and polish my lamp to recover from all those puns.

 

RATING - ★★★★★

 

ALADDIN is running at the Birmingham Hippodrome from Saturday 19 December 2015 to Sunday 31 January 2016.

CLICK HERE for more information on the show's run at the Hippodrome and to book your tickets!
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Press tickets for this performance of Aladdin were provided courtesy of the Birmingham Hippodrome directly. The author gratefully acknowledges their generous invitation.