Could Blackpool Grand’s panto be the best in the country? Clive Stack, who went along feeling more Grinch than Grande Dame, thinks it just could be. Oh, yes he does!
Are you ready for Christmas? Are you full of festive cheer? To be honest, it’s too soon for me yet, so I wasn’t really ready for a Christmas panto this early in the season. But with Tom Lister and Steve Royle heading the cast of Aladdin, I left The Grand Theatre at the end of the evening definitely feeling in the Christmas spirit.
The Grand’s Aladdin has everything a panto needs: lively musical numbers, great dances, fantastic costumes and, of course, plenty of gags and knockabout routines that will have both young and old chuckling to the very last number.
Tom Lister, as Abanazar, was everything a pantomime villain should be. When he was last in Blackpool, he won Best Villain in the inaugural Best British Pantomime Awards for his portrayal of Captain Hook in Peter Pan. I wouldn’t be surprised if he won it again this time around too. He was partnered up with Steve Royle (a man made to play the panto comic) as Wishee Washee, and the two of them stole the show with their rehearsed “ad libs” and their brilliant comic timing.
Ben Harlow, six feet tall and in heels, was a towering Widow Twankey who supplied most of the adult humour and the double entendres in a variety of comic and saucy costumes. Michael Robert-Lowe was the high-handed and domineering Emperor who managed to get in a few gags of his own. Aladdin, somewhat sidelined in this version by the big names, was nicely played by Mervin Noronha and his love interest, Princess Jasmine, was perfectly played by Mooyi Kim, an ex K-pop star.
Writer John Monie knew the area and his audience well and his jokes certainly had my nearly teenage granddaughter laughing out loud.
All the songs fitted in with the storyline and were very well sung by a cast with great voices – no surprise there when you consider how many of them have taken leading roles in musicals in the West End or on tour. There’s a typical panto set, but there was some clever technical wizardry for the flying carpet scene and some unexpected magic tricks at the end. The rest of the ensemble did their job perfectly and were very ably assisted by the young dancers from the Barbara Jackson Theatre Arts Centre in Fleetwood.
Jonn Monie, the writer, gave us all the usual pantomime routines (Oh! Yes, he did!) as well as some new material with a good smattering of topical jokes and Blackpool-based gags. He knew the area and his audience well and his jokes certainly had my nearly teenage granddaughter laughing out loud. He could have possibly given the roles of Aladdin and Princess Jasmine more to do, but this is only a very minor gripe in what was a wonderfully festive theatre trip.
My family regard me as a bit of a Grinch at Christmas, but I do love a good panto. And this is a very good panto. You would be hard pushed to find a better one in Lancashire – possibly in the country! It certainly put me in the Christmas spirit. Hand out those mince pies please!
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