This is the fifth collaboration between York Theater Royal and Pantomime Awards regulars Evolution Productions. On Tuesday, it was announced that next year's sixth installment of “Sleeping Beauty'' will be performed from December 2, 2025 to January 4, 2026, with Robin Simpson reprising her role as Dottie Dame. has already been released.
This partnership is well illustrated by the tropes established in Evolution's Paul Hendy script and Juliet Forster's casting and direction.
Simpson is not only an outgoing and teasing woman, but also the star of CBeebies every year. The animals live with Zeus, the border collie who stole the scene last year, or this time with Welly, a rather heavy-legged elephant doll. Lots of stage spectacle and the obligatory ghost scene (there's a female ghost gag bench here).
Pop's wealth of timeless songs equally shares a love of punchline puns and a preference for verbal wit over physical slapstick, though the latter still holds sway. I'm keeping it.
There's also an awareness of changing times and sensibilities, so Spirit of the Ring and Genie of the Lamp (both played by CBeebies' ever-cheerful Evie Pickerill) will leave you breathlessly chasing your tail and making your heart flutter. Widow Twankey's China Laundry was now replaced by Dame Dolly's Pun Shop while it still existed (with all its heart).
The decision to change “Abanazar” to “Ivan Tobebooed” may have more to do with Hendy's love of funny names than PC correctness. Paul Hawkyard, who returned to the feisty York villain after spending the winter panting in Dubai, predicted the same at a press conference in September.
Whether playing Bottom in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Rose Theatre, or Mardy and Simpson's Mankey in Cinderella's Ugly Sisters duo, Hawkyard is known for his muscular, volcanic character. He plays a very comical prank with his voice and body. As much as I boo him.
Your critics wished the Simpson's Dame Dolly and Hawkyard's Ivan had seen more scenes in comical combat, given their unusual on-stage chemistry, confirmed once again by their wouldn't-kiss prank. But perhaps the plot couldn't allow for more golden moments like this.
The comedy stars Pickerill's double act, Simpson's cheeky and sometimes brash Dame Dolly, Tommy Carmichael's languid son Charlie, and physical comedy specialist Rowan Armit-Brewster's Around The PC's world is shared between the PCs, who have just returned to York after a deft turn as Inspector Fox in The World Inn. This summer is like 80 days.
Armit Brewster's pompous cop outdoes the rather amiable Carmichael with better lines, better gags and funnier body movements, but kids warm to Carmichael's brashness and he Join Armit-Brewster and Simpson in their role in the show's best call – like a rap battle where they press a button to unleash recorded lines from familiar pop hits and express their emotions. Respond to difficult set pieces. Emotions.
Adam, who was in the front row and was chosen by the audience to be humiliated, wore a headset during the scene, but before that his bigger moment on stage was during a joke shop routine. It was time to say “Terry” and deliver a series of intentionally awkward punchlines. Bull timing.
Thario Solomon, who just played Sonny in the UK tour of Grease, plays the ever-positive Aladdin, as elated as he is on the carpet, singing dreamily and matching Emily Tan's Princess Jasmine. It has a thoroughly modern worldview. People are attracted to their personality, not their bank balance.
Clear storytelling and good values (rather than heavy-handed moral messages) have always been hallmarks of creative director Juliet Foster's productions, alongside rich humor complemented by Hayley Harrison's sparkling choreography. I'm here.
Morgan Brind's costumes stand out even more than his set design, especially Mrs. Brind's merry-go-round daffy attire. Please also pay attention to the store sign. Sherlock Combs, Barber, beyond the norm.
Hendy's script has room to cut observations about York's car parks and potholes, and he also takes potshots at Hull and the Grand Opera House pantomime, making this the second half of the show better than the first. I have never enjoyed puns. As always. The New Adventures of Peter Pan and Jack and the Beanstalk were better, but there's still a lot to enjoy about Aladdin.
Aladdin runs at York Theater Royal until 5 January 2025. Box Office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
