Adam Strong

Robin Hood

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Reviewed by Jodie Crawford

Opening Night verdict ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Robin Hood: The Magical Panto Adventure at the Manchester Opera House is everything a great panto should be: loud, proud, joyfully chaotic, and absolutely hilarious. From the very first moment, it’s clear you’re in safe hands with a production that understands its audience and fully leans into what panto does best. This is a great northern night out, with bells on!

The chemistry between Jason Manford and Ben Nickless is once again pure magic. Year after year they somehow manage to outdo themselves, delivering effortless laughs, perfectly timed chaos, and that wonderful sense that anything could happen at any moment. Their interaction with each other, and with the audience, is the heartbeat of the show. I fear the day when they decide to hang up their Panto boots as it’s hard to imagine a Christmas without them on stage together.

And honestly? It doesn’t matter in the slightest that the plot is inconsistent because it’s completely irrelevant. This panto has all the ingredients that matter. The ghost scene? Brilliant. The “in the gap” scene? Predictably unpredictable. The bloopers, singalongs, cheeky asides, and bang-on cultural references, from the last 12 months, all land perfectly, keeping the audience crying with laughter from start to finish. There are as always, some fabulous surprises in there too!

The ensemble cast is outstanding, bringing energy, polish, and warmth to every scene, while the costumes are the best I’ve seen at an Opera house panto:  vibrant, inventive, and a visual feast that add to the magic at every turn. A huge shout-out also goes to Adam Strong as the Sheriff of Nottingham, who delivers a pitch-perfect performance, gloriously dastardly, fabulously over-the-top, and exactly what a panto villain should be.

This is truly a show for all generations. I took a nine-year-old and a seven-year-old and judging by the laughter (and the conversations afterwards), those memories will last a lifetime. Let’s just say they will forever laugh when they get to page nine… #iykyk

Manchester should be incredibly proud of this panto. It’s a tradition done right, packed with heart, humour, and festive magic. I highly recommend this show. A guaranteed crowd-pleaser and a reminder of just how brilliant panto can be and should be.

Robin Hood is on at Manchester’s Opera House until Sunday 4th January tickets available here.

Disney’s Aladdin

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Reviewed by Jodie Crawford

Opening Night verdict ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Photography by Deen Van Meer

There really isn’t anything more Disney than this incredible production of Aladdin. It has all the key ingredients of a magical Disney tale, with bells on, and maybe just a little bit of glitter thrown in! 

This stage adaption has a plot true to the original Disney film. With our main characters: Aladdin (Gavin Adams) The Genie (Yeukayi Ushe), Jafar (Adam Strong), Jasmine (Desmonda Cathabel) , Sultan (Jo Servi) and the hilarious Iago (Angelo Paragosa) coming together to tell us the tale of poor street urchin Aladdin being tricked by Jafar, meeting a Genie and falling in love – with a few magnificent musical numbers, many jazz hands, beautifully choreographed ensemble pieces, sword fights, magical carpets and big belly laughs (even the wicked ones).

This production is mesmerising, it’s like nothing I’ve seen before. You are taken to a whole new world (couldn’t help it – sorry) where you can forget all your worries and just be transported to the land of Agrabah and enjoy the ride – specifically the carpet ride. 

Act one introduces us to the lives of our characters and we are treated to some wonderful musical numbers  – including favourites from the original movie like Arabian nights . 

The show stopper of Act 1 is, without doubt, Yeukayi Ushe (Genie) performance of Friend Like Me I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but this number is a feast for the soul: glamour, costumes, dancing, the set design, and more enthusiasm than I have ever seen on stage. Yeukayi Ushe, take a bow Sir – you are incredible. Hands down the star of this show for me! 

Act 2 treats us to more ensemble magic with Prince Ali and everyone’s favourite A Whole New World – the melody, the lyrics, the carpet. I found myself sitting with a great big, wide smile plastered on my face – there is something so comforting about hearing a song that you loved as a child brought to life on stage. 

This production is colourful in every way, the set changes are phenomenal – I will never understand how they can store so many set structures backstage for this show. The use of technology was clever in the small touches on the back drops in several different scenes. Everything is so carefully constructed by the set design team, there is so much attention to detail everywhere from the props to the costumes. If there is stronger word for “vibrant” I would use it – but vibrant is what it is, from start to finish. Everything comes together so perfectly and much of that is thanks to the fabulous ensemble, and the choreography. Both are flawless. 

I have to say that I feel the real love story in this tale is not that of Jasmine and Aladdin, but of Aladdin and the Genie. Their friendship is a rollercoaster ride and in the end their bond is stronger than they could ever have imagined and quite frankly, it was beautiful to watch. 

Special mention has to go to the orchestra led by the talented Dave Rose – every single note spot on and seamlessly woven into the plot. 

I took my seven year old to see this and I will never forget the smile on her face, the squeals of delight and the awe in her eyes. As we left the auditorium she whispered to me “This has just been the most magical night, I won’t forget it, ever” and yes I did have to wipe a little tear away. So thank you cast, crew, orchestra, costume, production team, and everyone else involved – including the wonderful lady from front of house who was so very kind and sang to us all so beautifully during the interval, while selling ice creams- you all made my little girls dreams comes true. Her last words before she fell asleep to me were “It’s just like when we went to Disney- can we go again tomorrow”. Well no, we can’t – but if you’re quick, you might be able to snap up a ticket before it completely sells out – you’ll regret it if you don’t – trust me! 

Aladdin is on at Manchester’s Palace Theatre until Sunday 7th July tickets available here.