Walking into Macroberts Arts Centre for this season’s panto of Aladdin you are greeted with an unexpected set design.
An 80s disco floor with a neon ALADDIN sign and retro-style walls shouts that this isn’t going to be your classically styled panto.
While the creative team always deserves recognition for the behind the scenes work, I was incredibly impressed by just how exciting they made the set (Karen Tennent), the lighting (Grant Anderson), and the costumes (Jennie Lööf).
Not only did it elevate the quality of the overall panto throughout, it also made the dance numbers and big action scenes more dramatic.
The other unconventional element was the gender swap of the leads. Aladdin was played by Betty Valencia and Prince Jaspar (not Jasmine) was played by Dylan Wood. The swap worked well with it being quite fun to see the Prince as being the damsel in distress.
The rest of the roles were classic panto with Aladdin’s mum Marge McTwank (writer and director Johnny McKnight) as the panto dame and her slapstick sidekick of a sister Wiz McTwank (Helen McAlpine). Amy Conachan played both the queen and the genie, and Robert Jack performed the Demon King.
Everyone performed their roles well – bar some opening night nerves causing some minor slip-ups – and took off flawlessly. The adlibs were brilliant. You could tell the cast was truly having a good time on stage, especially McKnight as the signature panto dame – flirting, insulting, and dancing his/her way through.
Valencia was a fantastic panto lead. She made the classic goody two shoes role as fun as she could with some great singing and dancing performances. Wood had fantastic comedic timing throughout. However, I just couldn’t quite tell if his camp interpretation of the love interest was intended or not.
The plot was a loose interpretation of Aladdin. Same cave of wonders, lamps, and genie, but a much different setting. The pacing felt a little off in places, specifically with the romance between Aladdin and Jasper, but everything else was entertaining and well-performed. The comedy worked for all ages and the cast bounced off each other, getting all the audience involved. I are a university student and still found myself genuinely laughing along and having a great time so it did truly cater to all.
The song choices were also fun and current. Some grandparents and parents may not have recognized all of them (don’t worry there is some Whitney Houston in there too) but the energy will have made up for it. I certainly wasn’t expecting to see a slowed-down romantic version of Miracle by Calvin Harris. The cast changed the lyrics to fit the plot of the panto. However, the music behind was quite loud meaning you couldn’t quite hear the new lyrics.
Whilst there were lots of changes to the classic pantomime feel, there were still the original jokes and moments. They had lots of ‘he’s behind you’ audience participation with the Dame to localised jokes. Also, there were references to Stirling and wider throughout. Nicky Tams, Kilted Kangaroo, and my personal favourite, Stirling Council, were all mentioned, with the villain informing the audience that it was he who knocked down the clock for fun.
It’s a definite must-see for those in the Stirling area. The pantomime is funny, high quality, and a good Christmas trip. The panto runs from the 1 December to the 31 December with a day off on Christmas Day.
Featured image – Pete Dibdin