Aladdin at the Palace Theatre, Manchester – you ain’t never seen a show like this

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Genie and Alladin in stunning gold dripping cave surrounded by friends

Mesmerising set design, champagne casting and glistening costumes, Disney’s international hit ‘Aladdin’ has finally landed in Manchester.

We all know the story, young Aladdin is down on his luck in his life as a ‘street rat’ until he bumps into Princess Jasmine in a market and everything changes. After a run in with baddie Jafar, a trip into a spooky talking cave and the discovery of a magical lamp, Aladdin’s life changes completely.

Gavin Adams perfectly portrays a lovable Aladdin with energy you’d expect from the opening show, not this far into the tour. His vocals are exceptional, absolutely nailing his solo ‘Proud of your boy’ and keeping the audience rooting for him for the whole show.

The gorgeous Desmonda Cathabel plays Princess Jasmine, radiating warmth and kindness throughout she really is giving princess. She looked amazing in the iconic turquoise two-piece and honestly if they sold adult sizes in the gift shop, I’d have been all over it.

Desmonda Cathabel as ‘Jasmine’
Gavin Adams as ‘Alladin’

The chemistry of the two actors shone in their performance of ‘A Whole New World’ as the magic carpet flew through the stars. My failed attempt to understand how the illusion worked through this scene led me to one conclusion – that carpet was actually magic.

Champagne castings doesn’t even do justice to Yeukayi Ushe as ‘The Genie’, an absolutely spellbinding performance that had the audience missing him the second he left the stage.

‘Friend Like Me’ was nothing short of jaw-dropping and i found myself on the edge of my seat with a huge grin throughout, all those around had similar reactions.

Yeukayi Ushe as ‘The Genie’

His charisma and incredible vocals were the highlight of the show no doubt, the audience in the palm of his hand from start to finish.

A shoutout has to be made to Aladdin’s three friends, replacing the original sidekick ‘Abu’ the monkey i’m assuming due to animal cruelty related concerns. Nelson Bettencourt as Babkak, Adam Taylor as Omar and Nay-Nay as Kassim; they absolutely shine and add a perfect touch of comedy to the plot.

What’s a Disney show without an evil villain? Adam Strong makes for a very devious Jafar that you love to hate.

The set design plays a huge part in the success of the show, transporting the audience to Agrabah through 4D illusions and attention to detail. The cave is really something, the whole stage dripping in gold and creating the perfect backdrop from the musicals best number, ‘Friend Like Me’.

It would be fair to say the show teeters on the edge of pantomime, but I mean that in the best way possible. If you ask me, pantomimes shouldn’t just be for Christmas so watching this in May felt like a real treat.

In classic Disney style, the target audience is of course children but there are enough jokes and stunning musical numbers to make it great for adults to. Colourful set designs, stunning costumes and high-energy from start to finish – you ain’t never seen a show like this.

Click here to book your tickets.

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