Pantomime

Aladdin

King??s, Edinburgh

Mary Brennan

FOUR STARS

Just like that dusty old lamp, dusty old panto stories can ?? if rubbed up by the right hands ?? release the kind of magic, romance and spectacle that family audiences wish for in a big, traditional variety-type show. There??s been a lot of behind-the scenes elbow grease here, and it??s in crowd-pleasing evidence from the moment Abanazar tunes into the hissy-whispers of a scary Giant Cobra, that threatens to sway into the stalls. Eek! What hasn??t changed, however, is that the glowering, towering baddie is still Grant Stott in swishy folds of shiny cloth.

Aladdin is the decidedly personable Greg Barrowman, who is in no way intimidated by the veteran presence of Allan Stewart and Andy Gray ?? well, Greg has understudied his cousin John in SECC pantos, so he surely knows the ropes. Edinburgh??s panto regulars know the properly daft double act of Stewart and Gray, of course, and would doubtless forgive them if they just strung us along with old, even antique rope. We do get a re-run of the classic ??fur coat?? wordplay, but there??s also a very clever, very funny take on the notion of a running gag where risky-rapid tongue-twisters about short shirts are shuttled across the stage, as Stewart ping-pongs between Gray and Stott. Much hilarity, too, in the way Gray??s dead-pan Wishee Washee can exasperate Stewart??s garrulous Twankey with just a word: ball-o-o-o-on. One word to describe Twankey on the flying carpet? Supercalifra ?? you get the effect, and it??s special in spades. Like a big Genie squeezed into a wee lamp, a lot gets packed in to two hours, but in terms of entertainment it does the trick for old and new panto-goers alike.