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Aladdin by
Stuart Ardern Pantomime March 2005
Directed by Jo Finch Somborne Becomes If
you were unfortunate enough to miss the Somborne Players’ latest production
of Aladdin, you missed a very good show indeed. Written by Stuart Ardern and well
directed by Jo Finch, the play transported the audience, as if by magic
carpet, to the streets of a Chinese town. The stage was filled with people
who seemed strangely recognizable and yet distinctly altered. An
extremely wicked Abanaza fascinated the audience with eyes that had a life of
their own, and equally captivating was Widow Twanky’s costume, liberally
decorated with this year’s fashion statement – socks! The market place,
unlike Romsey’s, even had its own dragon. The
cast were not only entertaining the audience, they genuinely seemed to be
enjoying themselves. The balmy air of the Sombornes must be the reason we
have so many pretty girls. We expected, and were not disappointed, to find
glamour with the leads of Princess Martini, Aladdin (I’m sure he was a she –
it was a pantomime after all!) and Ting Ming, but the “good look” factor
extended to all the cast (happily less so with the menfolk!), enhanced by
some wonderful efforts from the costume department. The
audience were treated to a constant stream of appalling puns, just as it
should be. Appropriate responses were drawn from the audience: hisses and
boos for the bad guys and appropriate calls of support for the good guys
filled the village hall as the enthusiasm mounted. The audience also enjoyed
several good musical moments; my personal favourite was the dance of the
skeletons in the cave. The drama of the stage action was heightened by the
special effects, produced whenever one of the genies appeared. Throughout the
evening the puns got worse, and the fun just kept getting better. It
was so pleasing that over 50 members of our community were able to get
together and entertain the rest of us all so well. We all saw the cast, but
have to bear in mind that about half of the participants were “behind the
scenes”. The evening was enhanced considerable by the technical expertise
from the excellent sound and lighting teams, and by a host of other back room
helpers. It is also important to appreciate the amount of effort required
beforehand by the number of people who help with preparation tasks, such as
the scenery and costume. This
was another excellent production from the Somborne Players that took the best
part of a year from its inception, and the work is already starting for next
year. If you would like to be involved in any way please contact the Somborne
Players, but if that is not for you then do show your appreciation for their
hard work by being in the audience. See you there! Reported
by David Pepperell for the Gauntlet
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