Alibaba and the 40 Thieves

Dates and Venue 16 Dec - 7 Jan | Metro Theatre, Vancouver

Reviewer Ed Farolan

It was fun watching all the tots and adults react to this panto written and co-directed by Johnny Duncan who has been doing this since time immemorial. In last December 18's matinee show, there were even some young adults with down syndrome participating in this panto, booing at the villain and applauding at the Fairy "Nerd" Sunbeam (Jennifer Moran). I remember Trent Glucker playng the villain, Demon Distastely, or El Hoot Dawg, in past pantos, but this year, Christopher Dellinger has taken up the role. Duncan includes corny pun jokes which is typical of Engish panto, and references to local people and places. Steve Harper is mentioned and also "being deported to Surrey" for being bad.

The British panto is a hodgepodge of jokes, dancing, singing, and spectacle in a small scale, and is a tradition during Christmas. Hit songs from Broadway like "We're in the Money" retain the melody, but the lyrics are changed to adapt to the panto. Instead of Baghdad, the action takes place in Gladbag. There are characters like Rhum Baba (Rob Gillespie), so that whenever his name is mentioned, the tiny orchestra composed of David Rogers (Keyboard) and Jayden Beauvoin (Percussion) would play some rhumba notes and the players would do a few rhumba steps.

There's always in a British panto a man playing a woman, and vice versa, as is the case of the principal character Roger Kettyls playing Cassie Blanca, again a play on words for Casablanca. Andrew Wade plays Wakey Fakir, because he's always tired and falling asleep, and so he encourages the audience to shout "Wakey, Wakey" when he's about to go down to slumberland.

I've enjoyed Johnny Duncan's pantos through all these years. I've been bringing my nieces in the past, but now that they're grown up, I take my granddaughter now to these Christmas pantos. They've all been very enjoyable and entertaining, especially because the actors are able to get the audience to sing and participate in the action.

Kudos to Director Cathy Wilmot, Choreographer Dawn Ewen, and all the actors and production staff for making this production an enjoyable one. The panto is on until January, so call now at 604 266 7191 to reserve your tickets. It's a fun show and you'll enjoy every minute of it.