Aladdin

This show has now closed, click here for a listing of current and future London shows

Opened 18 December 2004, closed 23 January 2005 at the Old Vic Theatre in London
Returned 7 December 2005, closed 22 January 2006 at the Old Vic Theatre in London

Ian McKellen returns as 'Widow Twanky' in the pantomime Aladdin

Aladdin is one of the more famous tales from the celebrated collection of stories the Thousand and One Nights. The story of Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp was the source for the first stage version at Covent Garden in 1788. The famous down Grimaldi played in it in 1813, and in 1861 Widow Twankey made her first appearance as a character. Since then Aladdin has been a permanent feature of the English pantomime scene.

"Ian McKellen is a dame to the manner born, his costumes becoming more outrageous with each appearance" The Daily Telegraph

This new version by Bille Brown with original score by Gareth Valentine was originally seen last year (December 2004 to January 2005) and is freely adapted from the celebrated translation by Sir Richard Burton of the Thousand and One Nights. Containing all the popular characters and pantomime ingredients, it's being staged at Christmas time as a tribute to the more raucous, pre-Shakespearean era at The Old Vic Theatre. It is directed by Seam Mathias.and includes the additional song 'I Believe in You' with music by Elton John and lyrics by Lee Hall.

Sir Ian McKellen will once again play the role of the Dame, Widow Twanky. Joining him will be Roger Allam as 'Abbanazar' and Frances Barber as 'Dim Sum'.

"I think everybody has some ideal about what a pantomime should be, and it's probably the first one they saw. I went to many of them in my childhood, at first with my parents, who had to hold me back when children were invited up on the stage, and then by myself. I've always thought it a wonderful form, because it can include anything the theatre is able to give a welcome to. For years I kept asking myself why I wasn't playing in one. The answer was, there was no opportunity. Eventually I realised I'd have to create my own... It's all a bit of an adventure for me. In a pantomime there's a wider variety of pure theatre than you get even in Shakespeare." Sir Ian McKellen

"McKellen has waited for 40 years to play this part and his utter glee is infectious - his performance has a warmth that is irresistible" The Financial Times

"There ain't nothing like a dame, but, believe me, there really ain't nothing like our most senior theatrical knight, that most eminent Shakespearean, Lord Gandalf von Tolkien - otherwise known as Sir Ian McKellen - in a figure-hugging, Abba pantsuit and gold platform boots... McKellen is a joy, delivering terrible jokes with spot-on timing and responding to double entrendres with a marvellous mixture of innocence and knowingness." The Mail on Sunday

"Sir Ian's Dame Twanky reveals himself as the mother of all drag queens"
The London Evening Standard

"Conceived by Ian McKellen and commissioned by Kevin Spacey, Billie Brown's ramshackle script is actually a sophisticated panto facsimile, lovingly restored by a theatrical aristocracy who treasure the form as a staple of British theatre, not a seasonal holding pen for soap stars. The sets might be shaky, but this is high-class lowbrow... This Aladdin is a valuable opportunity to reconnect with indigenous stage traditions. More importantly, it shows that one of our great theatrical knights has a smashing pair of legs and no shame whatsoever." The Sunday Times

"When it comes to dames, there's never been anything like McKellen's Widow Twanky" The Sun

"I found John Napier's design a feast - a Chinese takeaway - for the eye. And I rejoiced at the spin he put on spectacle: a Chinese laundry complete with working twin tubs and washing lines. Ian McKellen first appears as Widow Twankey in a psychedelic, neon-bright fur coat, swinging a lime-green, patent-leather handbag... The pleasure is in watching a classical actor transformed. This is a frisson nicely extended by allusions to McKellen's Shakespearean career ('I am a foolish, fond old woman') and enjoyable references to his Gandalf in Lord of the Rings, plus a garnish of arty jokes such as: 'I wasn't Matthew Bourne yesterday.'" The Observer

"Ian McKellen makes a startling apparition when he first bustles on stage in headscarf and curlers, heavily rouged, beaming away, radiating a sense of pleasure it would be hard not to share. His very nose seems to have acquired a comic quality. He quickly reveals his music-hall skills, too. He delivers his gags with panache; he echoes the variety stars of his youth. And as the story progresses he dolls himself up in a succession of outrageous outfits, each one more lurid or fluorescent than the last... In the end, despite McKellen, the show feels like an exercise in something that doesn't come naturally. It is fitfully entertaining, but it fails to achieve the authentic pantomime glow." The Sunday Telegraph