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To
cries of Bruno, Bruno everytime he appeared, the former heavyweight
boxer has made a triumphant return to the public eye as the Genie
in Aladdin at the Wycombe Swan.
Clearly
enjoying himself as one of the 'Hong Kong massive' who turns up
when Aladdin rubs his magic lamp in his cave of bling bling, Frank
is naturally funny, the audience absolutely love him and he looks
genuinely grateful for their support.
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| Sophie
Lawrence and Sooty |
It's
probably true that many people will have booked tickets out of curiosity,
but while big Frank maybe the jewel in the commercial crown, this
sparkling and colourful production is a real ensemble piece that
to be honest - is just fab!
Getting
back to traditional panto where girls play boys and vice versa,
the title role was taken by former EastEnder Sophie Lawrence who
also directed the production.
With
infectious enthusiasm and boundless energy, she also manages to
portray a certain boyish charm. But she is also blessed with a sickeningly
good pair of legs that would never belong to a man!
Mark
Jones as Wishee Washee is more than a little bit like Robbie Williams,
a real cheeky chappy with a winning smile who has some very funny
comic moments.
Many
of these are with the marvellous Barry Hester as Widow Twankey and
the audience loved their corpsing during some hilarious slapstick
comedy moments.
This
pantomime also has all the traditional elements that everybody knows
and loves. There's audience participation and terrible jokes plus
a generous helping of slapstick comedy but it also has an added
extra.
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| Barry
Hester as Widow Twankey |
The
Emperor is played by master illusionist Phil Hitchcock who doesn't
just do a few card tricks or pull a pathetic string of coloured
scarves from his sleeve. He performed whopping great disappearing
acts with all the cast which were truely mind-boggling.
And
there is also another world famous magician in the cast - the indefatigable
Sooty, who also got a huge cheer whenever he appeared! I don't know
what it is about a bit of yellow fur on the end of a hand but I
found him hilarious.
I
was more outraged by the evil Abanazar (Christopher Hackett) breaking
Sooty's wand than I was about him tricking the Princess (Jayne Curry)
into handing over the magic lamp. Why do they always fall for that
blindingly obvious 'new lamps for old' business?!
Then
when Sweep made an appearance it was the piece de resistence. His
duet with Aladdin on what was an excellent flying carpet effect
was hysterical - just remember that Sweep only squeaks!
There
were also plenty of topical and local references that audiences
love. Many of these focused on Wycombe Wanderers current poor form,
including referring to a new Chinese striker Win Wun Soon! And the
Genie noted that when he had been put in the lamp 2,000 years ago,
the Chairboys were top of the League! They even managed to get in
a reference to the capture of Saddam Hussein.
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| Wishee
Washee - a little like Robbie?! |
This
is a brand new production which benefited from what looked like
freshly painted sets and bright new costumes that filled the stage
with sparkle and colour.
The
singing and dancing was superb and some of the ensemble numbers
could rival any West End musical.
In
recent years I have found pantos to look rather tired and tacky
with performers just going through the motions.
The
sparkle of Aladdin was therefore a brilliant surprise with both
cast and audience enjoying themselves. It was a real team effort
that must be providing Frank Bruno with a real boost as he faces
his toughest fight yet.
Read
our interview with Frank Bruno and Sophie Lawrence >>
More
about this show >>
| Stephanie,
High Wycombe |
Saturday,
17-Jan-2004 21:02:03 GMT |
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| I
LOVED THE PANTO, I WENT TO C IT TODAY WITH MY FAMILY AND MY
LITTLE COUSIN ENJOYED IT ESPECIALLY. I WAS SCREAMING IN MY DEAPEST
VOICE "BRUNO, BRUNO" IN THE FINALLY, AND NOW MY VOICE IS VERY
SOAR. THE DANCERS WERE GREAT, THE DOVE MAJIC WAS FAB, I WOULDN'T
SAY NO TO SEE IT AGAIN!!!! WELL DONE EVERYONE, A MUST SEE |
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