Review: Disney’s ALADDIN, Birmingham Hippodrome - Tour
Photo credit: Deen Van Meer
Last night, we rented a magic carpet and took a ride to Agrabah to see the National tour of Disney classic Aladdin at Birmingham Hippodrome. The theatrical goliath in the Birmingham theatre scene. Were we going to see a cave of wonders? Or a shed of scraps? There was only one way to find out!
The story follows ‘street rat’ Aladdin, a cheeky but well intentioned and rather charming chap, who lives on the impoverished and bustling streets of the city. Aladdin, along with his friends Babkak, Omar and Kassim, spends his time getting into mischief, fleeing the royal guard and trying to steal enough food to survive. When on the streets, he runs into Princess Jasmine who has disguised herself as a common street urchin so she could escape the palace and see life beyond the confines of her royal life and the pressure from her father to secure a husband. They quickly fall in love but the evil ambitious royal advisor Jafar, who learns from a magic spell...prophecy...spooky voice that Aladdin is the ‘Diamond in the rough’ and is the only person who can steal a mysterious and magic lamp He whisks Aladdin away and sends him into the Cave of Wonders, the mission fails and the cave collapses, but Aladdin survives and upon doing so, rubs the magic lamp summoning an almighty genie who can grant three wishes and with this, Aladdin's adventure truly begins. Honestly, when reviewing shows as well known as this, it feels slightly gratuitous writing a synopsis about the show, but we guess there must be some people out there that have not seen the film? If you are one of those people Besties...WATCH IT, IT’S BRILLIANT!
We absolutely adore the story and have watched the film a gazillion times so had high expectations going into the show; so high in fact, we feared there was no way they could be met, but almost as if we had grabbed a magic lamp, summoned a genie and wished for a fantastic production, we were more than pleasantly surprised with what we saw.
First and foremost when seeing touring productions these days, there's never a guarantee that the producers will have put a good amount of budget into the set and costumes, but compared to some other tours we have seen recently, Bob Crowley’s glittering and magical set design and Greg Barnes’ stunning costume design could easily make you believe that Aladdin was at the Hippodrome for a year's residency - it was gorgeous.
Gavin Adams was the perfect charming leading man as Aladdin, with soaring vocals and brilliant comic timing to go alongside it. The banter between him and his three best friends, Babkak, Omar and Kassim, played with mastery by Nelson Bettencourt, Adam Taylor and Nay-Nay, bring us some of the show’s absolute highlights.
Desmonda Cathabel is vocally impeccable as Princess Jasmine and delivers the feistiness to Jasmine that we have always loved in the character. Adam Strong and Angelo Paragoso are the perfect villainous double act as Jafar and Iago, Strong very much brings the straight-faced comedy needed for the wicked and kind of fabulous Jafar, whilst Paragoso is an absolute rocket whose physical comedy acting is one of the show stealers.
Now no story of Aladdin in our opinion is good without casting a ridiculously good Genie, and Jill Green CDG absolutely nailed it with Yeukayi Ushe - what a delight! Vocals, comedy, sass, he had it all, a ‘Friend Like Me’ absolutely brings the house down. The Genie has always been the show stealer in Aladdin and Ushe continues that legacy, delivering the role with such a refined charm that no doubt Robin Williams would have been proud.
On the grapevine, going into the show, we had heard that the feel of this production was verging on pantomime at times, was this true? Well, yes... a little, but if it's a pantomime, it will be the best damned panto you’ve seen all year. If you are looking at this show as pure family entertainment, it completely delivers. We do wish, at times, the stakes were slightly higher, so it adds a dynamic to the story that gives us adult audience more to enjoy too, but we still had an absolute ball.
Aladdin is a delightful evening for theatregoers young, old and young at heart. If you have a chance to catch it whilst on tour, we highly recommend it. The storytelling is a joy to behold and whilst it lacks a dramatic punch at times, from an entertainment point of view. it’s worth all the money in the cave of wonders.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: James Edge
