Aladdin Panto At Whitley Bay Playhouse 2022 Review

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It wouldn't be Christmas without a trip to the panto and one we look forward to every year is the one at Whitley Bay Playhouse in North Tyneside. Blue Genie Entertainment always put on such an amazing show and the Playhouse is such a great venue, it really is a show that the whole family will enjoy. We have been visiting this pantomime since 2016 when the children were just two and three years old and they love it just as much now as eight and nine year olds as they did then (so do us grown-ups). 

  

Aladdin 

This years pantomime is Aladdin, which was actually the first panto we seen at the playhouse back in 2016. I was worried it would be the same as the previous production of Aladdin but it was totally different. Aladdin is played by Chico (what time is it? it's Chico time), Whitley bay panto legend Steve Walls returns as Wishee Washee and local panto favourite Daniel Mawston returns as Widow Twankey. 

As always the show opened full of energy with the brilliant young dancers and lots of feel good songs. The costumes this year were as amazing as ever, lots of sparkles and colour. We loved the song choices this year, a real mix of modern songs, feel good tunes and of course it's Chico time. Chico, Isabel Monje who played Jasmine and Lucy Kinsella who played the Spirit of the ring sang amazingly well. 

Father and son double act Simmons and Simmons created plenty of laughs as the Peking police Pc Yu and Pc Me, the flying bat scene had the audience in hysterics. Andrew Goddard created plenty of boos from the audience as Abanazer and Nigel  Collins made a great Emperor. 

As always Steve Walls had the audience on side from the very start with everyone wanting to be part of his gang. My son adores him and the ghostbuster scene is always the highlight for him. The cast had the audience booing, cheering, shouting "it's behind you" and dancing in their seats throughout the whole show. 

The set was great this year with some great special effects such as a blue genie (a nod to the production company) flying carpet, flying cast members and dazzling costumes. There was tons of slapstick humour, jokes that went over the kids heads and it wouldn't be a panto without tons of silliness from the cast and a few slip ups along the way. 

Whitley Bay Playhouse

One thing worth mentioning is the Playhouse venue, we love it! There is not a bad seat in the house and the seats are so comfy with plenty of leg room. The venue is great and ideal for the whole family to enjoy a show. The prices are reasonable too with light up toys costing £7, ice cream £3 a tub and the bar prices were reasonable too you could get a large slush in a take home bottle for £4.50. 

There is limited free parking at the playhouse, however we parked at the seafront carpark which was just a five minute walk away and cost a few pounds for up to 9 hours parking and had plenty of parking spaces. It is about a ten minute walk into Whitley Bay town centre where you can get the metro or a local bus. 

What We Thought

Honestly we loved it. I visited with my three children aged 8,9 and 20 and all three of them enjoyed the show. They laughed, they sang, they shouted and enjoyed every minute. Would I recommend a visit to see Aladdin at Whitley Bay Playhouse? Oh yes I would. 

Aladdin is running at Whitely Bay Playhouse from now until the 7th of January 2023. You can find out more and book tickets at www.playhousewhitleybay.co.uk/ ticket prices start at £22.95 and can be booked online or in person at the box office.