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Aladdin 2019/20
12th December 2019 - 5th January 2020
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THE SPECTACULAR FAMILY PANTOMIME ALADDIN!
Starring John Challis from Only Fools and Horses and Malvern’s favourite funny man, Mark James, alongside Jamie Steen as Widow Twankey, Aaron Jenson as Aladdin and Danny Rogers as PC Pong!
Loula Geater joins the cast as Spirit of the Ring, Jacob Morris plays The Genie, Joely Barbour as Princess Jasmine and Gary Davis as The Emperor.
Follow Aladdin, his brother Wishee Washee, and of course his mother Widow Twankey, on a spectacular adventure. Expect flying carpets, a wish-granting genie, an evil sorcerer and a lamp-full of laughs, so book your magic carpet ride to Malvern to the magical pantomime Aladdin!
Running time: approx. 2 hours 50 minutes, including interval.
TIMES & PRICES
December
Thurs 12th – 7pm
Fri 13th – 10.15am & 7pm
Sat 14th – 2.30pm & 7pm
Sun 15th – 1pm & 5pm
Mon 16th – 10.15am & 6pm
Tues 17th – 1pm & 6pm
Wed 18th – No Performances
Thurs 19th – 1pm & 6pm
Fri 20th – 10.15am & 6pm
Sat 21st – 2.30pm & 7pm
Sun 22nd – 1pm & 5pm
Mon 23rd – 1pm & 5pm
Tues 24th – 1pm & 5pm
Wed 25th – No Performances
Thurs 26th – 1pm & 5pm
Fri 27th – 1pm & 5.30pm
Sat 28th – 2.30pm & 7pm
Sun 29th – 1pm & 5pm
Mon 30th – 1pm & 5.30pm
Tues 31st – 10am (Relaxed) & 2.30pm
January
Wed 1st – No Performances
Thurs 2nd – 1pm & 6pm
Fri 3rd – 1pm & 6pm
Sat 4th – 2.30pm & 7pm
Sun 5th – 1pm & 5pm
Red Prices £12.32 All Seats* (no concessions or discounts)
Purple Prices £23.52, £20.16, £16.80, £13.44*
Green Prices £29.12, £25.76, £22.50, £19.04*
Relaxed Performance £10 All Seats (carers half price)
*prices include 12% booking fee
£2 off over 60s/ Unwaged
Under 16s £6 off
Members £4 off
Groups of 10 or more 10% off (only available when booked through the box office on 01684 892277)
RELAXED PERFORMANCE
There will be a relaxed performance of Aladdin on Tues 31st December ’19 at 10am 
Relaxed performances are specifically designed for people who find regular performance settings challenging. We extend a warm welcome to people who feel overwhelmed by the ordinary performance environment. These relaxed performances are open to ANYONE who would benefit from a relaxed, non-judgemental atmosphere including (but not limited to) people living with dementia; people with an Autism Spectrum Condition; people with learning difficulties; people with sensory or communication difficulties; parents with young babies; and anyone who feels they would benefit from a more supportive and inclusive theatre-going experience. Relaxed performance: All seats £10.00 (Carers half price). Book via the Box Office: 01684 892277
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Event Reviews
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David
Lovely show for my family! John Challis was a great villain, Wishy Washy and Widow Twanky were funny and my kids all loved Aladdin, who was excellent! A great cast in general. My only con was it was a little long, other than that five stars!!
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Richard
Living fairly locally just over the border (Herefordshire), I took my wife for part of her 80th birthday 'second childhood' celebrations. We both enjoyed the show but rather long and several items could be edited out. Children were engaged and loved it - Mark James is a natural for this. Great costumes and solos from the ladies. The 'magic carpet' visual effect were stunning. John Challis always the professional. Take the kids and those of us who enjoy a bit of unique British humour, slap stick and nostalgia.
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John
We attended the Friday 13th night performance and unfortunately, we decided to go home during the break. Too much meaningless, unfunny dialogue. It lacks tempo and continuity. Cut an hour from the running time and this could have been a far better production. As always Mark James is outstanding, he is the one person that holds this panto together, the glue so to speak. Sadly forgettable performances from Jamie Steen, Aaron Jenson and especially Danny Rogers. The star name John Challis (Boycee) looks totally detached from the part and fails to project much humour into the proceedings. The whole production looks cheap compared to what we have come to expect from the last few years, the costumes are not up to scratch at all. Not a patch on last years Snow White with Sue Pollard, who really threw herself into the part with a far better cast, notwithstanding the great Mark James.
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Rich
Don't believe John , he only saw half the show anyway!
The costumes are amazing, especially Jamie Steen's amazing dresses, and the wedding scene at the end with the elaborate Chinese costumes.
Great solo singing performances from Loula Geater and Joely Barbour. John Challis does his Boycie at the end also.
Maybe a little shorter, especially for kids, and maybe leave out some of the Brexit and Prince Andrew jokes?
Overall excellent, great venue, we will be back next year! -
Jon
Had a fantastic time at the pantomime on Monday night really good performance surprised myself children really got involved. Hadn’t t been to one for a long time and would highly recommend Aladdin. Looking forward to Peter Pan next year
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Jennifer
Amazing, never been to Malvern before, was recommended by a friend. First panto for my husband and we did not stop smiling all the way through. Thanks to a great cast.
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Sophie
The second half has all of the fun routines in it and way less story line...it’s when Abanazar really gets to show his evil side, everyone gets to shout ‘it’s behind you’, the Ghostie scene is brilliant and Boycie makes an appearance. So what a shame someone would choose to leave half way through. The most outstanding performances were Mark James, Jamie Steen and Danny Rogers. A ‘terrific trio’ as some reviews have said! Would definitely recommend Xxx
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Choice Radio Worcester
There are some dastardly deeds being done in Malvern at the moment as one man attempts to take over the world - by stealing a lamp from a hidden cave in the hills. The fact that the evil perpetrator is none other than Only Fools And Horses' Boycie means that this can only be one thing - Aladdin is in town!
And there is another face now very familiar to Malvern audiences as Mark James makes a welcome return to the panto for his third visit, this time playing Wishee Washee, Widow Twankey's son. Basically the same character as in previous shows but with a different name - not that the audience would expect anything less, of course, as this now stalwart of the panto effortlessly gets the kids - and the adults - immediately involved as his "mates" for the evening. And they need little encouragement!
John Challis as Abanazar is also there to energise the kids and does a great job of getting the required boos and hisses each time he appears on stage. Anyone hoping for a glimpse of his alter-ego won't be disappointed either…
Another star of the show is undoubtedly Jamie Steen - or rather Jamie's absolutely fabulous dresses (all his own apparently). Every time he comes on stage, he is in another utterly ridiculously over the top outfit, whether it be a huge liquorice allsort, a fully-laden table, a MacDonalds' meal or a bottle of Fairy Liquid. With two huge beefburger baps and two huge sink plugs emphasising his/her biggest asset… say no more!
Of course, Aladdin (Aaron Jenson) needs to get his girl, Princess Jasmine (Joely Barbour) and to do this, he needs the help of not just the Genie of the Lamp - an amusingly gay portrayal by Jacob Morris - but also of the Spirit of the Ring (Loula Geater). Wishee Washee's brother PC Pong provides more comedy, especially with his invisible car (which at one point he "forgot" to bring on stage) and Gary Davis is the Emperor who wants the best for his daughter - as long as it involves receiving a lot of money.
Aside from Widow Twankey's hilarious costumes, each one a real eye-opening gem, the comedy comes from the gags and one-liners which arrive quick and fast and there are a lot of them during the show - some tongue in cheek ones aimed at the clearly not-so-innocent adults in the audience (did PC Pong ever get his helmet polished, I wonder!) and that is exactly how it should be in panto - something for everyone (though no water cannons this time, at least not on opening night).
Not everything goes quite to plan, of course - the Short Shirt sketch was hilarious especially when it went a bit haywire, as was the soap sud routine which turned the stage into a virtual ice rink. Still, no actors were hurt in the making of this show!
There are some great tunes throughout (with the music provided by the relatively small orchestra of just three) though it is hard to imagine that, back in 1986, Steve Winwood was thinking that a few decades later his hit "Higher Love" would be used for a dramatic magic carpet flying sequence in Aladdin! And, of course, the colourful sets and costumes for all, including the dance team, makes this a great evening for families with youngsters, especially the "unscripted" part when 4 of the kids are invited up onto the stage, with enough to keep the parents amused too.
At around 3 hours, this is quite a long show but there was definitely enough to keep everyone entertained until the very end, after which everyone had a chance to have their photo taken with Wishee Washee in the foyer.
Next year's show has been announced with tickets now on sale. It's Peter Pan with none other than Mark James happily back where he deserves to be, this time on stage as Smee.
Earlier in the summer, we did some interviews with the cast - you can hear them here and get a feeling of how much they were looking forward to coming to Malvern for the Christmas season:
https://1drv.ms/u/s!ApvQQHoOrsTJgRl1XYLBViOZFEVT?e=2wNTq7 -
Jacqui
We’ve been to lots of pantomimes over the years in various cities. This one stood out from the rest. Amazing costumes and major engagement from the audience. Magic carpet brilliant! You should have stayed John.
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Susan
It was good pantomime paul james was excellent as usual all the cast kept me happy it was most enthralling iloved every minute
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Yvonne
Thought this was a brilliant show, wishy washy and PC Pong were our favourites!! The flying carpet was great, and the " short shirt" sketch was very clever.
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Elizabeth
I thoroughly enjoyed watching this excellent performance which was very well rehearsed, professional and entertaining.
What a shame that this was spoiled by some crude humour and double entendres even between Aladdin and Jasmine.
A panto is a family occasion and jokes like these are not acceptable and made me feel very uncomfortable. -
Frank
Only three days left of this production and if you've still not decided I'd say 'get along' to what I found to be a very decent production of Aladdin. Lots here for all ages and the 'glue' that holds it all together is a sparkling comic performance from Mark James who is clearly becoming something of a panto 'legend' in these parts. But, it's not just a one person show with John Challis excellent as the 'baddie' and a dame who has more costume changes than I've ever seen. Plus a Genie who takes 'camp' to a new level. Joley Barbour sings nicely as Princess Jasmine and I especially enjoyed Loula Geater's Spirit
of the Ring, a very perky performance with great vocals. All in all a very satisfying show. I travelled 40 miles to see this. If you live (more) locally it's well worth seeing. Enjoy. -
Andrea
We came with 64 rainbows brownies and guides along with leaders. I have to say it was brilliant I laughed right from the beginning to the end. The customes were brilliant there was humor for all ages, looking forward to seeing this year's panto
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Jennifer
What another amazing performance. The pantomimes improve year upon year. Thank you for a brilliant evening's entertainment. Look forward to the next one.
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Anne
We attended the show on 4th Jan in the afternoon - 5 adults and 3 young children. Excellent characters were the Spirit of the Ring, the Policeman and, of course, John Challis. The children enjoyed the slap stick comedy of Mark James and Jamie Steen (fantastic costumes). Aladdin and Princess Jasmine were uninspiring.
However, the show was spoilt by the completely unnecessary inclusion of "genital" humour. A burp and a fart can be appreciated by children and adults alike but the frequent references to adult genitals insulted the intelligence of the adults and was unsuitable for the many young children in the audience. Good humour does not need to be coarse.
