DescriptionThe second ever pantomime by the Lane End Players was well received, I wonder if they knew in 1974 how popular the pantomimes would become 44 years later!
This was a fun pantomime from start to finished enjoyed by all especially the children in the audience. This was a traditional version of Aladdin with all the classic characters including Aladdin himself, the villain Abanazar and the pantomime dame Widow Twanky. The LEP impressed with their colourful and eye-catching sets and costumes. Cast Aladdin - Joan Peatfield The Princess Jenin - Audrey Shepherd Widow Twanky - Doreen Reading Hoo Sit - Les Reading Abanazar - Geoff Hines Abdul - Sandra Hines Mustapha Biyeh - Frank Shepherd The Slave of the Ring - Alison Edgley The Slave of the Lamp - Richard Willis The Princess' Maid - Elsie Stone The Sultan - David Beever The Court Chamberlain - Colin Wess A Demon - Nigel King Lane End's 'Eastern Promise' (Local newspaper review by T.M.) The Lane End Players' pantomime 'Aladdin' lived up to its Eastern Promise with some splendidly colourful sets and enthusiastic performances at the village hall on Friday. Although the restricted space prevented the production from being exploited to its full potential, the was more than offset by the quality of presentation and infectious vigour of all on stage. After a slow start, during which the young audience overcame its initial awe of the sumptuous costumes and strange characters, things got moving in the best pantomime tradition. Obvious favourite was the hilarious Hoo Sit, a stock Chinese laundry man finely caricatured by Les Reading. With a well balanced mixture of slap stick and corny ad-libs, he soon won over the children - and the mums and dads - fulfilling with flair the link man role essential in a production of this type. The excellent costumes did not over shadow the performances of Geoff Hines as Abanazar - the rascal - Sandra Hines as Abdul, and Frank Shepherd as the boozy Mustapha Biyeh. As individual characters they come over well, but failed somewhat to make themselves understood - perhaps in the case of Abdul and Mustapha because of the twangy accents used. Joan Peatfield made a most attractive Aladdin, giving the well-known lamp rubber a happy-go-luck cockiness which aptly complemented some of the more imposing personages. And the other old favourite, Widow Twanky, was a real winner when played by Doreen Reading - her acting was "luverly" to quote the song she sang. A lot of hard work had obviously gone into the production, both on stage and behind the scenes, and it was all justified by one fact - the kids loved it! |
Author
P.H Adams and Conrad Carter
DirectorLes Reading (assisted by Doreen Reading)
VenueLane End Village Hall
Church Road Lane End Bucks HP14 3JE (see map below) |
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