Anna Burnside reviews a production with not enough high points and too many low points.
Pantomime is theatre’s most elastic genre, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise when the Ayr Gaiety decides to give baddie Abanazer the crowd work, renames Aladdin Aladdie and gives him a spunky little sister. Called, naturally, Alassie.
She takes on the traditional Silly Billy role of the audience’s pal and ringleader of nonsense.
The action is relocated to the Ancient Far East of Ayrshire, a land with pagoda-influenced architecture and groups of musical theatre weans in sparkly costumes who whirl on stage for a song and dance medley at every opportunity.
The plot struggles to cut through the sequins, and the first half requires some clunky set ups to pay off in the end. A chorus that echoes Abanazer’s name whenever it’s mentioned gets old quickly and his desire to turn anyone annoying into a pigeon should not be such hard work.
The cast is split between those who can act - Gavin Jon Wright, as Abanazer, is the standout here - and the singers. Mia Musakambeva, as Princess Destiny, and Hannah Howie as her regal maw, have the pipes and knock out impressive solos and duets.
Only the sonsie Ciara Flynn, as the bold Alassie, truly pulls off the double. She’s a great comic talent with a face that reaches to the back of the cheap seats.
Writer Fraser Boyle is a surprisingly low-key Widow Twankey, generously distributing the best lines and biggest laughs elsewhere.
The song and dance numbers that include the young cast slow down Aladdie‘s already leisurely pace. For a traditional panto, there are disappointingly few set pieces. A video segment on a series of Ayrshire buses is a high point but there’s only one half-hearted tongue twister and no obvious double act or catch phrase. Even the one-liners and geographic jokes are thin on the ground. An audience participation song feels bolted on.
Panto elastic can only stretch so far before it twangs back and belts someone in the face.
Aladdie is at Ayr’s Gaiety Theatre until January 4, 2026. For further information, go to the theatre’s website.
Pictures by Tommy Ga-Ken Wan.
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