Theatre

I'm told Sinbad the Sailor opens in traditional Berwick Kaler manner, as this is only the second Theatre Royal pantomime I’ve seen I've no idea. However, there is no doubt that I will be attending next year's as well!

The show is incredibly funny, consisting of various methods to make the audience laugh out loud such as slapstick and general comedy suitable for all ages.

David Leonard as Warlock.

The narrative of Sinbad the Sailor is very original to say the least; a tale of magic, distant aliens (all the way from Harrogate!) as well as a mini flying shawl - an original twist on a magic carpet!

A powerful spell book has fallen to earth from outer space. Warlock, the evil alien arrives in Arabia attempting to find the book and use its power to destroy the planet! Sinbad sets off on a grand adventure with the fate of the world on his shoulders.

The show opens with a voiceover which instantly has the audience laughing and indicates the brilliance of what is yet to come. Kaler’s entrance uses the production's trademark video of a jaunt around York City Centre, giving comedic value to the Proclaimers song ‘500 Miles’.

Sian Howard as Queen Nefertiti.

The pantomime then continues with Kaler’s standard 'babbies and bairns' welcome, with ‘the script’ being followed to the bare minimum. Kaler’s ad-lib's are always there, often adding 10 minutes to a scene, mostly because his fellow cast members are corpsing! Kids may have a late night, but it's worth it.

Martin Barrass still manages to skip around the stage with ease, performing his usual mad acts including falling down stairs... several times, bringing even more laughter to the scene. Not to mention David Leonard who, once again, becomes a great pantomime villain. A villain that clearly revels in all the booing and hissing. His take on pirate Jack Sparrow is hilarious, adding an interesting and very funny walk to the character!

Sinbad gets the girl!

The one thing that unfortunately is missing, but doesn't affect the quality of the performance, is the absence of Suzy Cooper - due to child bearing duties! Her replacement is Kaler’s nephew Vincent Gray (yes, that’s a man playing principle boy!) who, with all the accent jokes being pushed aside, equals all Suzy’s qualities despite his obvious gender differences.

Overall, the production meets Kaler’s standards and once again raises the bar - including a hint of plot this year!

Charlotte Burkitt