Aladdin by Birmingham Royal Ballet, Birmingham Hippodrome - review with pictures
The audience got to step inside an Aladdin's cave of colour, wonder and delight as Birmingham Royal Ballet brought this exotic classic tale to life.
The performance, at Birmingham Hippodrome last night saw Mathias Dingman as Aladdin deliver all the playfulness expected of the lead whilst Princess Badr al-Budur played by Momoko Hirata was a delicate, elegant bride.
As Aladdin crept down the ribcage-like steps into the cave, the audience were shown multi-coloured stalactites, bursting pots of treasure and a lamp pride of place on a high golden plinth.
The magical characters in the cave brought the dark and otherwise frightening lair alive, spinning around Aladdin as he dutifully tried to collect some of their magic and jewels in his hat.
Aladdin's mother, played by Marion Tait, was hilarious as she pinched his ear, shook her fist and later pleaded with the Sultan to save his life.
Jonathan Payne as the Sultan was a sincere and adoring father always on the edge of tears or sneezing.
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The Djinn of the lamp, identified by many as the genie, played by Tzu-Chao Chou was the stand out, however.
From the moment he appeared on stage, seemingly levitating from beneath a marble archway, the audience was hooked.
Later, when he emerged from the lamp in the palace, he and his minions were so captivating, we failed to notice when Aladdin was transformed into a glittering Prince.
Chou's seamless sequencing of steps, endless turns and continual jumps set him apart from the others as he appeared to be everything a genie ought to be - all-powerful, other-wordly and, well, completely blue.
As the performance took us from bustling market place to exotic public baths complete with water feature to an impressive white-washed launderette and the interior of the marbled palace to name but a few, so the audience lost themselves in the fairytale.
Indeed, unlike Aladdin, we just had one wish - that the performance wouldn't end.
The show runs at the Hippodrome until October 7 before heading to Theatre Royal in Plymouth and ending it's run at Sadler's Wells in London on November 2.
