ALADDIN at the Hackney Empire

★★★★

“Clive Rowe is truly the grand dame of panto dames”

Stuff Shakespeare, Pantomime is probably my favourite theatrical tradition. There are not many other settings where you can have babies, grandparents, and long-suffering assorted other relatives entertained for a couple of hours by good old British drag.

And Clive Rowe knows how to entertain. His stewardship at the Hackney Empire continues this year with another barnstorming performance as Mother Twanky in Aladdin. We are transported to the land of Hack-ne-lah, for a riot of fun, anti-consumerism and disco dancing. Trust me, it works!

Do I need to explain the plot? Probably not. The main additions to the traditional tale here are the sneering, evil billionaire Mildew Funk played in gloriously writhing camp fashion by George Heyworth (better known as Bourgeois in the celebrated cabaret duo Bourgeois and Maurice), who unfortunately also happens to be Jazz’s (Isabella Mason) father. He is determined to marry her off to a fellow rich man, when her heart has already been captured by the pure and kind Aladdin (Fred Double). The biggest baddie is Abby-na-zaaar! spelt properly with three ‘As’, one ‘R’, and an exclamation mark (Natasha Lewis). She is determined to become the most powerful wizard in the world, and also the best trombonist. I did not realise my panto needed brass on stage, but turns out it really does, especially accompanying a reworked Meghan Trainor song.

Aside from the magic lamp, there’s also a magic ring (the spirit of which is played by a charismatic and ditsy Ruth Lynch), who’s provenance got slightly lost in the exposition of the opening scenes, but nonetheless is charming.

“Cleo Pettitt on costumes ramps up the camp and comedy with each one: the sparkling dirty martini glass dress is the literal cherry on top”

Rounding out the cast is Rishi Manuel as Wishy, who does a great line in slapstick comedy, and pulls the audience through the obligatory participation songs. Kat B is the coolest genie I’ve ever seen, in a plunge neck disco outfit, and towering platforms.

Rowe also directs, and has assisted Will Brenton in writing the script. Once the heavy lifting of character introductions is out the way, Rowe warms the audience up with the help of a laundry list of gags – literally. Pun after pun after visual joke came tumbling out of Widow Twanky like the assorted items out of her brilliant bag lady dress, embossed with Groucci. The outfits get more and more extraordinary – Cleo Pettitt on costumes ramps up the camp and comedy with each one: the sparkling dirty martini glass dress is the literal cherry on top.

The big dance numbers also show off the talented ensemble and heighten the energy even more, grabbing the attention of even the chatty two year old sitting next to me. Myles Brown’s choreography, using professionals, (members of the Hackney Empire’s young Artist Development Programme, and the Vestry School of Dance and Performing Arts) is both polished, but also has an inclusive, community feel.

Though Widow Twanky might have moaned about the special effects budget, I was impressed by the sheer amount of pyrotechnics on show, and especially the magical carpet ride. Steve Edis’ original song here was also a welcome respite from memories of Peter Andre singing that version.

The short second act feels like it’s also had a gin at the interval, with the jokes getting more risqué, though firmly on the side of family friendly: the children around me were confused as to why I was laughing so hard at a gag about the Ultra Low Emissions Zone. I also think they might have been bypassed by the bisexual lighting and Aphrodite statue in a certain evil lair which foreshadowed a lovely romantic tryst and twist.

Hackney Empire once again presents yet another magnificent panto and Clive Rowe is truly the grand dame of panto dames. Long may his reign continue.

ALADDIN at the Hackney Empire

Reviewed on 30th November 2023

by Rosie Thomas

Photography by Steve Gregson

Other reviews by Rosie:

Manic Street Creature | ★★★★ | Southwark Playhouse Borough | October 2023

Dear England | ★★★★★ | Prince Edward Theatre | October 2023

The Flea | ★★★★ | The Yard Theatre | October 2023

The Least We Could Do | ★★★★★ | Hope Theatre | October 2023

Artefact | ★★★★ | Playground Theatre | September 2023

Something Unspoken | ★★★★ | Playground Theatre | September 2023

I Wish My Life Were Like A Musical | ★★★★★ | Wilton’s Music Hall | August 2023

The Wetsuitman | ★★★ | Arcola Theatre | August 2023

Spiral | ★★ | Jermyn Street Theatre | August 2023

Bloody Elle | ★★★★★ | Soho Theatre | July 2023

Bones | ★★★★ | Park Theatre | July 2023

Aladdin

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★★★½

“The production is deceptively complex and skilfully carried off.”

“Turning you out? What an old-fashioned idea!” the power-hungry property developer Marion exclaims at one point in Owners. Of course, what the play sets out to prove is that it’s not an old-fashioned idea at all, but a painfully immediate one: both in 1972, when Caryl Churchill first wrote it, and now, in Stella Powell-Jones’ production at the Jermyn Street Theatre.

Owners is concerned with property: with having and being had. Clegg wants a son, wants a butcher’s shop, wants Marion, who wants power, who wants Alec, who wants — maybe nothing at all. As Marion ruthlessly develops her London properties, she sets her sights on the flat where Alec is living with his pregnant wife. She also sets her sights on their unborn child. Owners is a play about the need to possess, but it is also a play about the need to be possessed. As it unfolds, sinews of desire stretch and flex between the cast, as they separate and come together, tangled in ever darker threads.

The production is deceptively complex and skilfully carried off. The set, designed by Cat Fuller, is a stroke of genius, with a panorama of doors pressing claustrophobically in on the little family. Fuller uses the tiny space of the theatre’s stage to her advantage. Throughout the piece, everyone vies for exactly the same tiny patch of hotly contested real estate, as a series of hinges and compartments turn one flat into the next. It also means that, even when one person’s life is carefully hinged away, it is still ‘present’ on-stage. All these lives stack on top of each other in a suffocating palimpsest that is extremely effective.

What is initially identifiable as something almost in the vein of farce, grows mesmerizingly misshapen and grotesque as the play leads us down darker avenues. This is underscored by increasingly sinister interludes of music (Sasha Howe and Max Pappenheim) and lighting (Chuma Emembolu) during scene changes, before the lights come back up and we revert to the brightly lit family moment. The sense of something dark and inarticulate shadowing beneath the mundane works very well, especially as Owners gathers speed and becomes more confident in its own surreal cynicism. By the end, it eschews the comfortable escape-routes that something ultimately closer to farce might provide, and instead embraces a grim cannibalistic quality that makes for some beautiful moments of dialogue. Ryan Donaldson as Alec delivers a stunningly haunting hospital scene, and Laura Doddington is incredible as the bullish, smarting Marion (“be quick, be clean, be top, be best”), and a personal highlight.

While the themes are still strikingly relevant, the production shies away from what could be a more current exploration of them. The choice to maintain the 70s setting so distinctly through music and costume (Agata Odolczyk) is visually very effective, but also serves to buffer the play slightly, making it a more comfortable watch. When Clegg the butcher charges a customer just 20p for a pound of mince, a titter goes up from the audience: this is not our world, really, then, and we can breathe a sigh of relief. In the second act, however, when the grim surrealism is allowed more space to unfold, Owners does begin to bite more. Ultimately, though frustratingly lacking in urgency, this is a well-executed piece that leaves you heading back to your cold flat and your rented room with a pit in your stomach.

ALADDIN at the Hackney Empire

★★★★

“Clive Rowe is truly the grand dame of panto dames”

“Cleo Pettitt on costumes ramps up the camp and comedy with each one: the sparkling dirty martini glass dress is the literal cherry on top”

ALADDIN at the Hackney Empire

Reviewed on 30th November 2023

by Rosie Thomas

Photography by Steve Gregson

Other reviews by Rosie:

Aladdin

Aladdin

OWNERS at the Jermyn Street Theatre

★★★½

“The production is deceptively complex and skilfully carried off.”

OWNERS at the Jermyn Street Theatre

Reviewed on 18th October 2023

by Anna Studsgarth

Photography by Steve Gregson

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Owners

Owners