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Director Kerry Michael clearly means well in his panto production of ‘Sinbad the Sailor’ but as the cast sing ‘girl power! girl power!’ in triumphant unison at the show’s finale it only takes a quick flick through the female characters for the admirable sentiment to ring hollow: the female genie subservient to an evil man, the nurse who’s actually a bloke in drag, the princess who spends the show disguised as a boy, and Sinbad’s sister Sinbadda, who we’re told is actually the hero and not her scaredy-cat bookworm brother, yet is a part so bland that I genuinely forgot she was in it at some points.
That’s not to say that Theatre Royal Stratford East’s panto isn’t a jubilant, festive spectacle – because it is. It’s stuffed with top-drawer stagecraft, with high-camp glee and great, glowing sets in bright colours. Michael, artistic director of the theatre, clearly knows this stage like the back of his hand. Big chorus scenes fill the space to its edges, then contract for intimate moments.
And he’s a director with a penchant for technical tricks and illusions. The story of Sinbad and his motley crew racing to reclaim a golden casket before the nasty Prince Naw Ze Uzz uses animation, shadowplay, smoke, mirrors and even remote-control sharks.
As well as hitting the right panto beats, there’s loads of invention in here too. Rina Fatania’s Green Genie is a particular comedy highlight, neurotic and sulky and dressed in a puffy spherical outfit like an overripe gooseberry. She spars brilliantly with Michael Bertenshaw’s evil Prince, reluctant to do his bidding. Bertenshaw, Stratford East’s go-to baddie, is as good as ever. He channels panto villain oiliness with slippery ease, almost as if he doesn’t give a damn, tossing out a few edgier jokes to the adults that fly over the children’s heads.
It’s not quite as barmy as last year’s offering, nor quite as slick, but it’s still one of the better London pantos. And even if the patriarchy-crushing message lands a little clumsily, it’s hard to fault the intention.