Diane writes:
My daughter and I were luckily enough to be provided the opportunity to see Aladdin at the Towngate Theatre, Basildon. I have never been to this venue but found it small and intimate which made for a great view of the whole stage (at least from the stalls). We had taken my daughter’s booster seat with us as we have been caught out before with restricted viewing but we need not have been concerned, as the seats were tiered perfectly.
The sets were great and costumes in general were good (although being able to see so well meant I could spot additional panelling having been added to a few). However, this hardly distracted from the overall production. The carpet ride was magical and my daughter looked on in wonder with no idea how the carpet appeared to float around the stage, which added immensely to her enjoyment.
There were jokes aplenty with some going over the heads of the youngsters (I checked to see if my 10year old understood – thankfully she wasn’t laughing!) a particular highlight being the ‘Who’ ‘What’ and ‘I don’t know’ sketch which had the whole place in stitches. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed the police sketch too.
Not of the same slick production value as other venues although these usually being accompanied by ever increasing and unreasonable ticket prices, the acting, atmosphere, humour for all ages means that Aladdin the panto will not disappoint.
Aladdin is running until 2nd January. For more information and to book visit the Towngate Theatre website
