MAYER WAKEFIELD has reservations about the direction of a play centered on a DVLA re-training session for three British-Pakistani motorists
A panto let down by inconsistent writing and direction
aladdin
New releases from Steve Knightley, Jupiter & Okwess, Jason Palmer, Lisa Knapp and Gerry Driver, Kin'Gongolo Kiniata, Ingrid Laubrock/Tom Rainey, Dan Sealey, Simin Tande, PAZ
JOHN GREEN relishes photography that unfolds a longstanding and poetic relationship with Leeds
A uncomfortably misogynistic authorial voice that sometimes seems to lack insight troubles FIONA O’CONNOR
MARY CONWAY is disappointed by a production that panders – if inadvertently – to Western prejudice against China
JOHN GREEN is fascinated by a history that excavates the enormous role played by agricultural workers in recent times
ALEX HALL recommends a book that places empirical evidence at the heart of understanding racism
Aladdin
Lyric Hammersmith, London
LIKE the proverbial football match of two halves, this patchy panto takes on highly different aspects before and after the interval.
In the section up to the break there’s barely a memorable moment. The custard pie slapstick is limp, the music is uninspiring and the jokes are weak, with some strangely out of date “current affairs” cracks for the adults.
In general there’s little for young or old to get stuck into, especially as it takes far too long to reach the animating point where Aladdin finally goes into the cave to search for his magic lamp. Mulled wine at half-time was a blessed relief.
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