The Playhouse always sets the bar high when it comes to festive family fun, so we arrived for this year's pantomime with high expectations. It did not disappoint.
All the right elements were there and more: jokes so bad they were good; sing-a-longs; fantastic set illustrations by Korky Paul and a cast that worked their socks off to get the audience going. In this, a special mention must be made of the superb Dame, Widow Twanky, who played everyone's favourite part with real oomph.
From the feisty feminist princess Perfect Rose to the wannabee rapstar Aladdin and the woefully misunderstood villain, Abanazar, the stage was a riot of character, dance and song.
You all know the story – I won't repeat it and anyway, in the time honoured tradition of pantomime, the plot of the story was subsumed by 'he's behind you!', 'boooo!' and 'oh no you didn'ts'. This Aladdin was set in the austerity hit city of Ox-a-for, complete with a recognisable High Street. A pantomime at its best should have enough contemporary references to please the grown ups in the audience and Aladdin hit the mark. Being Oxfordshire, it could hardly avoid mention of our most high profile MP and any porkies in his past. The poverty struck population are taxed to the hilt by the Emperor and controlled to the point that they may not look at his beautiful daughter, the princess Perfect Rose. The princess bursts onto stage with a broad Glaswegian, 'That's just stupit!'. Whoever cast Kiran Sonia Sawar got it just right. Her gutsy swagger turned the traditional helpless princess who all too often still simper onto the pantomime stage on its head.
Beneath the plot of the Princess and Aladdin (and perhaps only equalled by their stunning flight on a magic carpet) ran the sub-plot of love lost between the Genie of the Lamp and the Spirit of the Ring, which added a surprising depth to the production. The Spirit of the Lamp, played by Rochelle Rose, really stole the show with her rhyming advice to Abanazar, superb singing voice and stage presence.
The family verdict:
2 year old: danced and bopped her way through the show, pausing only to throw ice cream down her leg. Loved it!
5 year old: 'It was splendiforous! Very funny and brilliant.'