ALADDIN | THEATRE ROYAL, NEWCASTLE
★★★★★
“Webb and Adams hold the audience in their thrall…”
A giant crocodile, equally enormous fire-breathing Tyneside Dragon and a magical flying carpet are just of the three spectacular effects that ensure this fast-paced reimagining of Aladdin, celebrating Clive Webb and Danny Adams’ 20th panto season at Newcastle’s Theatre Royal, is top notch fun from the get go.
If one, or possibly two, of those elements sound out of place in the middle-eastern folk tale, never fear, Michael Harrison’s new version is a glittering ’21st Century’ reimagining of the age old story, which is just as well – charges of cultural misappropriation against the much-loved title have made it problematic for many producers in recent times.
Harrison fixes those issues by transporting the action from China to the fictional land of Pantomania, and replaces the story’s Dame, laundry owner Widow Twankey, with Mr and Mother Goose, owners of the local theatre, who live on a street populated by other fairytale characters, with their son Aladdin and pet goose, Priscilla.
Abanazer is out too. Instead, it’s the Wicked Witch of Wallsend attracting all the boos as, with the help of the magic lamp from the Cave of Wonders, determines to claim her rightful place in The Pantoland Hall of Fame and so rule all of Pantomania… but first, she much find the Chosen One (sound familiar?) also known as Aladdin, for only he can enter the cave to retrieve the lamp.
What follows is as much a glittering homage to the age of musical hall as it is to pantomime – big song and dance numbers, word plays and comic routines the order of the day. What story there is borrows from the original Arabic tale in mash-up with Mother Goose.
The opening number, sung with charismatic cheek by Joe McElderry (as are the majority of the songs) recaps the 20 pantomimes the father and son double-act have starred in since first stepping onto the Grey Street stage in 2005. It builds nicely towards the arrival of the stars themself who have the audience in their thrall from the moment they appear, Webb once again the long-suffering father figure, this year that’s Mr Goose, and Adams his mischievous ‘acciderrrrnt’ prone and unlikely ‘hero’ son, Aladdin.
Both are in their element and there is little doubt it’s their show but that’s not to say that they don’t have strong support. Chris Heyward, arguably the country’s most glamorous Dame, is a magnificent Mother Goose with a glittering and ever more outrageous wardrobe as the show progresses, and McElderry proves the perfect foil for Adams. Elsewhere, Mick Potts is a priceless Genie of the Lamp and a master of clowning, while Billie-Kay’s Princess Jemima is charming with powerful vocals.
A ‘greatest hits compendium’ of Webb and Adams two decades at the Theatre Royal, many of the routines in this Aladdin will be familiar to Theatre Royal regulars, with highlights being a hilarious Shakespeare for Geordies wordplay and Chris Hayward’s breathlessly delivered There’s Life In The Old Girl Yet, a Good Old Days-style number by Tudor Davies that’s straight out of the ‘variety hall songbook’ and an absolute belter. And if the mayhem of the slosh routines in the pair’s earlier productions may be dialled down these days, it’s certainly not watered down: Ticket in the stalls? Prepare to get wet.
Staging wise, sets, lighting, projections and impressive pyrotechnics, that are far in advance of the stage flashes of old, all combine to create a sumptuous, glistening wonderland – and let’s not forget the gorgeous costume design.
As in all the best pantos, Harrison and Ed Curtis’ script is an innuendo driven affair with gags old and new and, perhaps most importantly, topical; Prince Andrew, Rachel Reeves and even Bonnie Blue all get a nod, though it has to be said Adams, himself, can raise a laugh with nothing more than a glance to the audience.
So slickly directed, if it feels there’s little time for the piece to breathe occasionally, it does just that with the highlight of the evening, an inspired Haunted Bedroom routine that proves a ghost-busting thriller that just builds and builds, keeping the laughter coming. Milked within an inch of its life, and all the better for it, Webb, Adams, McElderry and Wayne Smith, as Old King Cole, are on fire, encapsulating in one scene the art of pantomime that Webb and Adams have championed for so long.
In partnership with lumo.co.uk – Connecting Must See Theatre in Edinburgh, Newcastle and Beyond
Run ends 18 January 2026 Tickets HERE
