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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Arifa Akbar

Aladdin review – supermarket panto ticks Aldi boxes but needs a Lidl more laughter

The widow has a beard, shades and a huge gold turban; the genie has a ringmaster's jacket, sparkly waistcoat and a huge blue turban
Bringing the riotousness … Emmanuel Akwafo (Widow Twerkey) and Jodie Jacobs (Genie) in Aladdin. Photograph: Tristram Kenton/The Guardian

A wonky romance sits at the heart of this overhauled Arabian Nights folktale. Aladdin is a local lad, working at his mum’s launderette in Shepherd’s Bush market. Jasmine is an Indian princess who wants to be “normal” but is hemmed in by bodyguards.

Cue teen passion that breaches the class divide and a rendition of Pulp’s Common People by Aladdin (Andre Antonio) and Jasmine (Aleyna Mohanraj), which sets the tone for this poppy panto, led by an onslaught of cover songs.

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