Aladdin review: Panto at Cork Opera House grants all our wishes
A scene from Aladdin, the pantomime at Cork Opera House. Picture: Chani Anderson
★★★★☆
Young audience members gasp and can be heard asking, “Are they really flying?” as Aladdin and Jasmine float over the stalls of Cork Opera House on a glowing magic carpet during this year’s panto.
It’s the start of act two of Aladdin and our young lovers are enjoying a reprieve from the dastardly machinations of Abanazar when they appear midair, stars twinkling behind them, singing Golden, from the hit Netflix film K-Pop Demon Hunters, while backed by the talented live band in the pit.
Aladdin and Jasmine, played by Anthony Sahota and Izzy Khogali, are charmingly naive characters who seem to stumble blindly into every obvious trap laid by the evil Abanazar, portrayed by the excellent Michael Grennell, who co-wrote the show with director Trevor Ryan.
A true pantomime villain, Abanazar and his wicked goatee earn boos from the boys and girls in the auditorium from the moment he appears — the kids of Cork certainly aren’t falling for his tricks, or his flirting with our beloved dame.
Our comic relief comes in the tickling trinity of Callum Martin as the Genie of the Magic Lamp, Alison McCormack as Wishee Washee, and Frank Mackey as the inimitable dame, Nanny Nellie. Martin brings a sass and sarcasm to the Genie, whose quick quips keep the kids in stitches. Meanwhile laundrette owner Nellie and her granddaughter Wishee — a goofy twin sister to our hero Aladdin — are quite the Cork double act, with lilting accents, local references, and trademark Leeside humour aplenty.
Mackey as the dame dazzles like one of Nellie’s well-laundered shirts in every scene. Superfans can even pick up some Nanny Nellie merch in the shop, such is her popularity in Cork. McCormack is a welcome dose of fun too as the bubbly Wishee but stuns vocally in a haunting rendition of the viral hit by Kingfishr.
The jokes throughout land well with the crowd, whether they’re poking fun at current affairs and pop culture or simply indulging in every child’s favourite thing: fart humour. It’s only surprising the villain was named Abanazar and not simply Jafart. But likely to the relief of parents in the venue, there’s not a single reference to the 6-7 social media trend that currently has chanting children in a chokehold — but there’s no escaping Labubus, even here.
There are moments that reward the attentive adult in the room, not least a well-known RTÉ presenter caught canoodling with Nanny Nellie on a Coldplay-esque kiss cam to whoops of delight from the audience, the lucky devil.
Special effects such as the iconic carpet ride are magical, the costumes are outstanding, and dancers young and old impress with their effortless grace. From the detailed streets of Shangri-Lilo to the mysterious cave where Aladdin finds the magic lamp, the sets help to transport the audience through the tale.
A dance-along to led by Wishee and the Genie ahead of the bows does feel like it runs a bit long, considering the two-and-a-half-hour show might run past some audience members’ bedtimes, but it’s all good fun. Except for Abanazar’s relentless support of the Tipp hurlers. Oh no he didn’t!
- runs at Cork Opera House until Jan 18. Tickets €25 | €39.50 | €42.50, plus booking fees. Family Pass from €145. The show, with interval runs for a total of approximately 2.5 hours. See corkoperahouse.ie
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