THERE was plenty of shine, shimmer and splendour in Bridgwater Pantomime Society’s production of Aladdin and his Magic Lamp.

The society has been running almost 60 years, and the cast, young and old alike, certainly entertained when I went to see them for Friday night’s performance.

Opening night wouldn’t be opening night without a few hiccups, but they were handled admirably, especially by a larger than life Widow Twankey (Keith Robinson), who, with Wishee Washee (Richard J. Porter), had the audience in stitches.

Special praise must go to choreographer Fiona Wheeler and musical director Joe Moretti – the dances and songs were fresh, well rehearsed and fitted perfectly with the scenes.

The dancers didn’t put a foot out of step and the singing was wonderful.

The sets and costumes were beautiful, really transporting us to old Peking, though the wigs used by some cast members looked a little drab.

Ken Stone as evil Abanazer had the audience booing – for all the right reasons – and Kimberly Priddle as Jasmine and Jordan Hill as Aladdin played out their romance beautifully by song.

Sadly Lauren Singleton, the  Genie of the Ring was rushed to hospital on the Friday so I did not see her performance but Margaret Robinson took over the role superbly with a couple hours notice, whilst Karen Rainey only had an hour before the show started to fill in for Margaret as the Empress as China.

 Both did extremely well with such short notice and performed these roles for the first four shows.

Lauren was well enough to return to stage last night (Tuesday 27th January 2015) and Margaret resumed her role as the Empres of China.

A well done must also go to the other Prinicpals, Zoe Pike, who made a beautiful May Ling, Mike Bolton who played a stern and scary at times - Emperor of China and Samuel Long as the Genie of the Lamp.

A highlight for me were the regular intervals of the Emperor’s police force, led by Darren Oxman as sergeant with Paul Chilcott as Loo Pee, Shaun Long as Stu Pee and Lindsey Stone as Ping Pong.

They really got into character and had me laughing with some simple but effective slapstick.

The star of the show for me was Aladdin himself.

Jordan has a superb voice which captivated the audience, especially with his rendition of Feeling Good.

He writes in the programme that he would like to work backstage on professional productions in future, but I feel he belongs on stage.

What is refreshing with the society is its involvement with the audience.

There were lots of references to Carnival and places in the town, and getting young audience members up on stage was a highlight for them and their parents.

Praise muse go to the producers and directors of the production, especially Margaret Robinson who has spent the last year tweaking the script, finding the music, purchasing costumes and three months of chorus singing rehersals.

Keith and Richard made them feel at ease while staying in character, adding to the professionalism of the whole cast.

The hard work by the whole cast and crew has paid off, and if next year’s planned production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is anything to go by its one audiences won’t want to miss.

Aladdin and his Magic Lamp is still on at Bridgwater Town Hall until Sunday (January 31) don’t miss out!

Danielle Morris