REVIEW: Arabian Nights, Proteus theatre company (From Basingstoke Gazette)

REVIEW: Arabian Nights, Proteus theatre company

10:04am Thursday 1st December 2011 in Theatre By Joanne Mace

PLAYING fast and loose with a classic, whirling it into a blend of comedy, dancing, puppetry, circus tricks and serious storytelling and then delivering it to an utterly delighted modern audience – that’s what you’ll witness writer/director Mary Swan’s version of Arabian Nights achieve.

It has been a long time since I heard children laughing so loudly and so spontaneously at a theatrical production and it was heartening to actually see them enjoy it, too, courtesy of Central Studio’s open performance space.

One young man literally leapt from his seat to join in at one point and if the opportunity had afforded itself, I have no doubt more theatregoers would have joined him.

The set has the appropriate air of exoticism and opulence, boasting warm tones and colours. Who better to appear on it and get things going with a disarming and charming dance sequence than the brilliant Umar Ahmed. He wins a place in everyone’s heart thanks to his utterly winning display as sweet superfan and Bollywood extra DJ.

Swan’s premise is that the actors for a community production are late. In the end, only two turn up, famous actor Gerard Green (a suitably puffed up Danny Charles) and an assistant (the beautiful Nadia Emam), so they are encouraged to work with DJ and a keen charity worker Simone (QMC’s Tumelo Carter) to put on the show regardless and save the day.

Put on a show they do – and then some. Over the two halves of the running time there are pillow fights, many costumes, shadow puppets, accents from everywhere (Essex sailors relay one tale) and even a pantomime ‘oh no, he isn’t’ exchange as you delve in and out of Scheherazade’s stories of Aladdin, Sinbad and the rest in the magical Iraq of very distant memory.

During one magical sequence two sets of pillows are lifted from a couch and become delightful little pillow puppets with button eyes, manipulated by the actors for another of the stories.

I don’t know how just four actors do all of this – but somehow they manage. And the audiences for this touring production will be all the luckier for it.

For details of the tour dates, log on to proteustheatre.com.