Shone Productions’ pantomime at Middleton Arena this year was the famous story of Aladdin. Although the effects do contribute to the spectacle, the choice of ‘celebrity’ was rather poor, TOWIE’s James Argent - this evening he even sported joggers and trainers and lacked the traditional Abanazar headdress. The comedy leads - Ruby Murray’s Widow Twankey and her on-stage son, Ben Coles’ Wishee Washee - held the show together, along with Slave of the Ring, Emily Portch. The story was also a bit flimsier than the usual pantomime version but it was at least enjoyable, despite the occasional lack of articulation by the ‘big name’, leading to confusion for the many younger members of the audience, I am sure.
Negatives aside - other than the lack of composure and musicality of leading man Sam Retford (from Channel 4’s Ackley Bridge), which may have been contributed to by the odd sound settings at the start of songs, not just the imbalance between music and voice - the wit of the script is very good, the inclusion of panto checklist components is welcome and the quality of the live band (of three!?) is brilliant. The other ‘big name’ (as well as panto dame Ruby Murray who was on Britain’s Got Talent) is Kelsey Beth Crossley who is probably most memorably known as Scarlett from ITV’s Emmerdale but has an evident wealth in the art of pantomime and her beautifully powerful singing voice is no surprise she had two of the judges turning for her on 2014’s The Voice UK. She recently played the part of Lynn in the feature film 'Born In The Eighties'.
Coles’ Wishee Washee is Mr Tumble-esque and has the enthusiasm of any comedy lead. Partnered with Ruby Murray whose wit is almost instantly reactive, the pair are a real force and an honour to witness. Paul Flanagan’s Emperor is well-performed but I suspect tame compared to the recent setting himself on fire and drowning he did in a music video, although he has been in over 44 productions. The music was well-chosen and included ‘Welcome To The [60s] City’ from Hairspray, ‘Part Of That World’ from The Little Mermaid, ‘I’ve Got Life’, ‘I Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’, Clean Bandit’s ‘Rather Be’, ‘Could It Be Magic’, ‘The Old Bamboo’ from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ from Mary Poppins, ‘Nessun Dorma’, ‘Rewrite The Stars’ from The Greatest Showman, ‘Defying Gravity’ from Wicked, Mariah Carey’s ‘Hero’ and The Monkees’ ‘I’m A Believer’. The expected ‘A Whole New World’ was included but only during The Bows and now for the ‘amazing’ ‘magic’ carpet. I did have a job making out the start of the songs because of the sound.
The dancing, under choreographer James Wilson, was nice, performed by the ensemble of dancers Lilly Marsden, Ben Maddison, Emily-Jade Littlechild and James Corlett and the Anita Tymcyshyn School of Dance.
The show, although structured and within the lines of pantomime entertainment left me feeling like something was missing, prompted more by the questioning reactions of people sat around me. Nonetheless I am sure that everyone who has seen it and who is yet to do so during the remainder of its run until 30th, has and will enjoy this bit of fun-filled festive entertainment, in shelter from the cold.
Reviewer - John Kristof
on - 16/12/18
The special effects were good but I thought the singing and acting overall was terrible. With the exception of the slave of the ring.
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