Event & Review: Stockport Plaza’s Aladdin

Hey kittens!

The festive season is almost over, but it wouldn’t be complete without a flashback to one of my absolute highlights of this winter – my VIP trip to Stockport Plaza’s Aladdin. On Saturday 9th December I had the absolute pleasure of being invited to Stockport Plaza’s press night of their pantomime, Aladin.

Now, I realise this view is a little late (my apologies, kittens) as Aladdin has now wrapped for the year, but I really couldn’t take my Christmas decorations down without telling you about this festive treat (…shhh, it isn’t the twelfth night yet…). Besides, there is nothing to stop you keeping your eyes peeled for next year’s production – in fact, I’m not being tardy, I’m just super forward planning to pantomime season 2013.

Okay kittens, I’ll level with you. I hadn’t attended a pantomime since my primary school days and although a little lady never reveals her age (y’all know I’m 21), I have to say it had been exactly 10 years since my last attendance – eeek! I had no idea what to expect. I had heard it was the Stockport Plaza’s best pantomime yet and I sure didn’t want to be disappointed…

On arrival I was greeted by the bright lights of this beautiful art deco building and welcomed by concierge dressed in black tie. I was directed upstairs to collect my press tickets, where I was greeted by Ted Doan, the General Manager of Stockport Plaza in the 1930’s restored cafe lounge where the press were welcomed. Besides all of the champagne, refreshments and snacks I could possibly have wanted, the cafe lounge was restored exactly to how it would have looked in all it’s art deco glory. I have to say this was one of my highlights of my visit, as I had always wanted to visit the art deco cafe but had never had the excuse – however, I am sure I will now be making up many excuses for myself!

When it was time to take our seats, we were welcomed to the stalls of the brightly lit and colourful theatre and shown to our seats by the friendly and helpful volunteer staff. Again, the building was a real highlight of my visit. As of 2000, the Stockport Plaza undertook a huge £500,000 restoration project to restore the building to it’s original state. It is now lovingly looked after as one of only a handful of Grade II listed cinema buildings in the UK. It now incorporates the class and splendour of the 1930’s whilst also catering perfectly to the demands of the 21st century audience, using a combination of historic cinematography and modern technology. A nice example of this was the organ playing on stage whilst we were taking our seats.

Now, on to the performance itself! Aladdin was absolutely everything I expected a pantomime to be – funny, camp and with an added bit of cringe-worthiness. However, the cringes were all in good humour and everyone was really up for a laugh – literally. It was great to see the audience get involved and really have a good time, it was like no other theatre experience I’d ever experienced before but now I fear that my annual festivities may not be complete without a magic carpet ride to the Stockport Plaza’s pantomime!

The cast was an added bonus for me. Ex East is East, Corrie and CBBC’s Hotel Trubble star Gary Damer took the leading role as Wishee Washee and was not only a roaring success with the kids due to his OTT and slapstick humour, also tickled the naughty side of my sense of humour with his tongue-in-cheek puns. Although unfortunately I didn’t get chance to meet Gary afterwards, we’ve since exchanged a couple of tweets and I can vouch that he’s a nice guy, which is an added bonus! Unless, of course, he’s been sweetening my up for a good review…

Another cast highlight was the role of the Genie by the undisputed king of children’s TV, Dave Benson Phillips. Having been glued to his programs as a child, I was so excited to see he was part of the cast and he did not disappoint – he was hilarious, charming and added a real bit of magic to the show. Magic.. Get it? I also had the pleasure of meeting him and have stayed in contact via Twitter – he even flattered me into asking for my business card.

The rest of the cast also lived up to expectations, with John Altman who played Nasty Nick Cotton from Eastenders playing the very appropriate role of the evil uncle, Craig Perry playing a heartwarming Aladdin and the dry humoured Danny Posthill playing a hilarious camp Window Twanky – whose outfits were to die for, may I add!

After the performance, the press were invited back to the Cafe Lounge for refreshments and an evening buffet. This was a fabulous opportunity to mingle and meet the cast, which really was the cherry (or bauble) on top of the tree for a fantastic night. In true panto style, I left the building just before 12 in order to avoid turning into a pumpkin at midnight. However, I am sure the gathering continued long into the evening as it was a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere as Stockport Plaza celebrated what they class as their finest pantomime yet. And even though I may not be a regular at the panto, I have a good feeling that I might be inclined to agree…

PS here is a cheeky picture of myself with one of my childhood heroes – Dave Benson Phillips – and what a lovely guy he is!