Joy Watters reviews a 'loud, colourful, daft, vulgar, hilarious entertainment for all ages.'
Bard in the Botanics again journeys east from Glasgow to bring another wise-cracking family panto to the Byre and gets a warm welcome. Their trademark is loud, colourful, daft, vulgar, hilarious entertainment for all ages.
The hallmark of a good panto is laughter, particularly the sound of young children chuckling, and Aladdin hits the mark good and proper.
The scale of the Byre auditorium means that the entertainment wraps itself round the audience, bringing mirth to one and all. Those in the front few rows find themselves at the mercy of Alan Steele’s Dame, Widow Twankey, and take it all in good part.
Stephanie McGregor’s Wishee Washee is a delight, bouncing about with jokes aplenty, making an instant connection with the audience. Robert Elkin’s uber-camp Genie of the Ring goes for some ‘adults only’ gags, naughty boy.
Director and writer Gordon Barr has created a real in-your-face panto. All the traditional elements are there plus the current pop hits in energetic song and dance numbers.
The youth cast does a really good job supporting the professionals with some budding stars clearly amongst their midst.
At the centre of it all is Alan Steele’s dame, a powerhouse of hilarity, scripted and adlibbed. He just never flags while sporting some gorgeous over-the-top dresses, designed by Carys Hobbs.
Indeed, there are some splendid costumes for all the cast, set against Gillian Argo’s bright and bold set.
Aladdin is simply the very dab, nearly three hours of all round family entertainment banishing the winter gloom with its warmth.
Runs until December 31, 2016 at the Byre in St Andrews.
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