Theatre and Dance Previews

A few days ago I took my son to see the Christmas pantomime, Aladdin at the Theatre Royal in Bath.

Star of the show and director Chris Harris, who has appeared at the Theatre for the past few years in their annual panto production took on the role of Widow Twanky.

Chris is one of the country's leading dames, and his enthusiasm and easy rapport with the audience kept the show rattling along.

Clive Mantle as Abanazar

The baddie, Abanazer was played by local actor Clive Mantle, best known for his long running role as consultant Mike Barratt in BBC TV's Casualty. I interviewed Clive recently on my Saturday lunchtime show, and discovered that this was to be his first venture into pantomime.

Watching his performance and his responding to the jeers and boos from the audience made me think this won't be the last time he signs up for a Christmas production.

Byron Mondahl, who recently graduated from Bristol's Old Vic Theatre school proved very popular as the bumbling Chinese policeman, and slave of the ring Emily Alexander showed herself to be a powerhouse of fun and energy every time she took to the stage. 

Lauren James as the romantic interest Princess Jasmine was all you could want in a leading lady with her bright costumes, good looks and excellent singing voice.

Singer and actor Chris Till who has starred in a number of West End Shows such as Jesus Christ Superstar, and Mamma Mia took the lead role of Aladdin and immediately won over the audience, especially the ladies with his youthful good looks and cheeky grin.

For me though the real star of the show was Wishee Washee played by local TV presenter Jon Monie who was a natural for the part, with his obvious ability and boundless energy as the perfect foil for many of the gags and asides of the other actors whilst bringing his own personality to the fore every time he was on stage.

The show was the most colourful I have seen at the Theatre Royal for a few years, and many of the sets and scene changes garnered warm applause from the obviously appreciative audience. This is a really fun show in every sense of the word.

If I wanted to be picky, I would say that the first half took a while to get up to speed, and possibly the whole show was a little long.

That said, it's difficult to fault the enthusiasm of any of the cast or company, and anyone paying a visit to the Theatre Royal in Bath will leave having enjoyed one of the best pantomimes to be staged in our area this Christmas.