I went to see a pantomine last night. Oh no I didn’t…oh yes I did! It was the first one I’d seen in almost 40 years.
When my creative partner in crime, Jennifer C Wilson suggested we go and see Aladdin at The Whitley Bay Playhouse, I thought about it for three seconds and said “Yeah! Why not?”
This morning I woke up with a smile thinking about the panto. The audience loved the show which has something for everyone: kids, mums, dads, grandparents and Boyzone fans. I think Shane Lynch as Abanazar was the reason why Jennifer wanted to see the panto. He was a fairly convincing baddie and we all got to sing Boyzone songs at the end. Well, I didn’t. I sat there thinking “was Shane in Boyzone or Westlife?”
The enduring appeal of pantomine seems to be the choice of finest ingedients: local dance schools for the routines, a regional actor or two, a star (Shane) plus a script packed with corny (but enjoyable jokes), innuendo (for the grown ups) and a happy ending (aaah!)
Jennifer’s evening ended happily as she got to meet Shane (again!) and I took an out of focus shot of the two of them. He seems like a nice chap so thanks to him, Steve Walls (Wishee Washee) and the rest of the cast for an entertaining evening. I’m off to check out ticket availability for pantos at South Shields’ Customs House and the Gala Theatre in Durham (Oh yes I am!)