The near eighteen-month pandemic impact on theatre is now loosening its grip – but the damage for so many has been terminal.
Sometimes overlooked has been its effect on young actors and their umbrella organisations, Companies and Drama teaching et al. This had denied so many opportunities for them to learn and develop their craft. Parents and little’uns have be denied, effectively two Christmas Seasons of the essential Pantomime protocols of “Boo/Hiss/Hooray and he/she is behind you”. There is a lot to catch-up on – from Fairy Godmother to Medea, the connection is made.
Flying High Young Company’s production of Aladdin is something of a rare achievement, organising an ensemble cast of actors raging from 16 to 18 years old. The logistics alone is staggering – don’t even mention the financing.
The very sensible adherence to social-distancing has impacted severely on this ambitious production. After the novel device of having the audience invited in to the auditorium with the cast bubbling about with trays of enticing Market trinkets the dreaded ‘Forth-Wall’ demands that there is no further physical interaction with the audience. The ‘flat’ – two dimensional dynamic, it is learned, is far from the original staging.
The Magic Lamp released Genie bouncing and whooping from the auditorium rear would have been a gem. To mitigate that, Aladdin needs to express a little more shock and awe when she appears. Hey! It’s a kinda Magic, yeh?
The barometer of any show aimed at very young audiences is when the kids start getting restless if they sense there are too many pauses/silent transitions. They do not do subtlety, narrative needs to be kept to a pacy minimum and they want to focus their energy on interacting with the action. And yes, thought the Production dynamic eschews Panto tropes, the cast need to seriously ‘wind’ the kids up, parents are gagging to relive their childhood and will chivvy things along with gusto. Define goodies and baddies immediately they appear.
This is a young cast, eager to show their potential and need to learn to be braver in their projection and audibility. An text-book error is having characters seated or lying on the stage floor. Sight-line and audibility is immediately severed resulting in the young audience squirming to see what is going on.
The ensemble chorus refrains immediate engage everyone though again, stage/Distancing restrictions impact on their ability to express more animation. These young actors are inheriting the devastation only too obvious wrought on yet another Edinburgh Fringe month. As for future opportunities/careers? “Don’t put your son/daughter on the stage Mrs Worthington?”
Sod that! Get yourself a Magic Lamp kids and rub it so polished you can see your reflection and then ask, ‘Is this really what I want to do?’ The answer is staring you the face – check-out the title of your Company and start getting back to The Future.
The Fringe and beyond need you.
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/aladdin
