We were kindly invited along to View The Spotlights Christmas Pantomime for 2019 - Aladdin .

With an all star cast including Sam Callahan of X factor fame, celebrated west end performer Ian Parkin and Robert White (former BGT finalist) we were very excited. Sadly my eldest missed out on this occasion as he was at school, but myself, the husband and our nearly 2 year old took our seats amongst crowds of excitable school children. The children gave a really lovely vibe to the proceedings bopping up and down in their seats and dancing even before the curtain rose.

We sat in the rear terraced seats which I liked because they were spacious enough to stretch your legs out a bit . As a parent taking a child to a show can be daunting but this show has plenty of audience participation which I feel is very suited to young audiences.

 

The cast of Aladdin burst onto the stage in a blur of colour, dancing (including a very impressive back flip from Sam Callahan!) and singing to the audiences delight and captivated both young and old immediately.

Clever and well designed scenery transported the imaginations to china, where this version of Aladdin is set . 

Sam Callahan made for a very believable hero of the tale and charmed the audience instantly and Beth Lyons as Princess Jasmine was exceptional, her voice had the real traditional old school Disney feel to it which I absolutely loved and made her ideal for the role of princess.

Robert White was a very funny Wishy Washy bringing some adult humour to the tale alongside Ian Parkin as Dame Widow Twanky , who was simply hysterical . The genie is present in the form of a giant Genie puppet, which was pretty impressive I must add, with the added bonus of having the voice of Brian Blessed. 

PC Me and PC You were great additions to the tale, providing lots of slap stick comedy along the way as well.

 

The cast were supported by a hugely talented ensemble of young dancers who were foot and note perfect throughout.

With a range of well known songs  you'll be bopping in your seats and dancing in the aisles.

 

In my mind there are 4 special ingredients to make a good panto

1. Fantastic Songs and Dancing
2.  A bright and attractive set
3.  Great costumes 
4.  An engaging cast 

And The Spotlight has produced these by the bucket load this year! This along side the inevitable happy ending you will leave feeling super festive and with smiles all around. If its traditional good old fashioned panto with all the mayhem and mischief that accompanies it you are after head to The Spotlight for a real Christmas Treat.

Tickets to See Aladdin are competitively priced starting from just £15 for a child ticket and £56 for a family of 4. You can find out more here

Aladdin runs from Friday 13th to Tuesday 31st December 2019. There is also a relaxed performance on Sunday 22nd December at 4:30pm.

 

Thanks for reading

 

Kayleigh & The Boys

Xxxx

 

Disclaimer: We were gifted these tickets in exchange for an honest review. All words and sentiments are my own.