Artistic Director Yamin Choudury, Executive Director Jo Hemmant and the whole team are delighted to announce full casting for Aladdin, the 24th annual pantomime running at Hackney Empire from Saturday 18 November to Sunday 31 December, with a press performance at 7pm on Thursday 30 November.
The cast of Aladdin, in order of appearance, are Natasha Lewis (This England, EastEnders)as Abby-na-zaaar!, Ruth Lynch (Aladdin, Mother Goose, Hackney Empire) as Spirit of the Ring, Fred Double (Wuthering Heights, Wise Children) as Aladdin, Isabella Mason (Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, Norwegian Creative) as Jazz, George Heyworth (Bourgeois & Maurice) as Mildew Funk and Rishi Manuel (Brief Encounter, Stephen Joseph Theatre) makes his panto debut as Wishy.
In what will be his 16th pantomime at Hackney Empire, Olivier award-winning panto royalty Clive Rowe will direct and star as the Dame, Widow Twankey. Joining Clive will be our very own Hackney diamond Kat B (Jack and the Beanstalk, Mother Goose, Hackney Empire) as the Genie.
The cast is completed by the talented ensemble: Zaynah Ahmed, Ben Anderson, Samuel Deghkhadirian, Christian De-Gallerie, Anna Greenwell, Charlotte Louise and Beth Sindy.
Join us on a journey to a magical world, as the much-loved tale of Aladdin flies into Hackney this festive season! Aladdin dreams of finding love and making his fortune. When he discovers an enchanted lamp and meets a mysterious genie, it looks like all of his wishes are going to come true. But are they, or will forces of evil stand in the way…? Expect an unbelievable cast, incredible costumes, uncontrollable laughter and song and dance numbers that are nothing short of genie-us!
Aladdin is written by Will Brenton, based on ideas by Will Brenton and Clive Rowe, who also directs. Aladdin will have original music and songs by Steve Edis. Cleo Pettitt returns as costume designer and set design coordinator, Alex Maynard as musical director, arranger, orchestrator, supervisor, with Myles Brown as choreographer David W Kidd as lighting designer and Yvonne Gilbert as sound designer.
The 2023 festive season will burst into life with the 24th Hackney Empire pantomime, providing joy for all the family, and in several cases, a vital introduction to the magic of theatre.
