Aladdin performs at the Millennium Forum from Fri November 29 until Tues December 31. Tickets are now available and are priced from £12.50.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Could you introduce yourselves and who you're playing in Aladdin?
00:04My name is Niamh Morrison and I'm playing the Genie of the Lamp.
00:07Hi, my name is Karen Hawthorne and I'm playing Abanazar.
00:10I'm Lily O'Regan, I'm playing the Spirit of the Ring.
00:13Wow, class. And can you tell me a wee bit about Aladdin?
00:16You know, it's every year a million performers on a big show.
00:19What's so different about Aladdin this year?
00:22Aladdin itself, so they sort of try and rotate them,
00:25so it hasn't been done in quite a long time.
00:27Aladdin itself is a really old story,
00:30all the kids know it, they know about the lamp,
00:32they know what to do, they know what to shout out,
00:35but the parents know it as well.
00:37There was a remake of the film not too long ago as well,
00:40so it's quite current, so the material's quite fresh as well.
00:43So we just have fun with it.
00:45What's fun about something that comes when you're working on it here?
00:48Fun?
00:49Yeah.
00:50Yeah.
00:51Definitely.
00:53Yeah.
00:54Yeah.
00:55Anyone?
00:57Is this your first Pantou, or have you been on Pantou before?
01:00This is my first Pantou ever on here, and yours as well.
01:03Yeah, this is my... Actually, this will be my first one, yeah,
01:06as an adult it will be, yeah.
01:08What's it like being on your first Pantou?
01:10Overwhelming.
01:11It's been brilliant so far, yeah.
01:13In a good way.
01:14It's been brilliant, hasn't it?
01:16No, it has. It's been a lot of fun.
01:18Everybody's great, everybody's very welcoming,
01:20because you're coming under a cast that have been together for a while, really.
01:25But...
01:26It's been very fun. We're having a great time.
01:28Yeah, it's been fab.
01:29Yeah, you just immediately feel that vibe,
01:31and everybody's just here for a good time,
01:33and the energy's always up, and you're...
01:35Yeah, it's just been so welcoming, hasn't it?
01:37Yeah.
01:38And, no, it's been great.
01:39So, yeah, couldn't have asked for anything more, really.
01:41Yeah.
01:42It's been good fun, yeah.
01:43You've been on one before?
01:44I've been here from 2019.
01:46Wow.
01:47Yeah, so when I was 15 I started...
01:49I started, so I've been here for a wee while.
01:51But, yeah, it's lovely.
01:53The cast sort of changes, but there's always a nice feel to it,
01:56because everyone's quite local,
01:58and even when you get new people in,
02:00somebody maybe knows them, or they're a friend of a friend,
02:02so it's quite nice, yeah.
02:04Can you tell me, is it important to you to be a part of Ponzi
02:07because it brings people and families together,
02:09especially around Christmastime?
02:11Yeah.
02:12I think that's definitely a big part of it, anyway.
02:14It's always fun to, like, you see the waves,
02:16you hear the noise is immeasurable, it's insane.
02:20But it's great that we can also branch out
02:22to, like, all communities.
02:23We've got how many accessible performances this year?
02:25We've got three?
02:26I think there's three, yeah.
02:27Three?
02:28We have a relaxed performance, which is also dementia-friendly,
02:32and we have an audio-described performance this year as well.
02:36Is there another? What am I missing?
02:38There's another one.
02:39Signed?
02:40Yeah.
02:42Yes, there's a captioned one as well.
02:44Our assistant offstage just told us.
02:46So, yeah, it's really good.
02:48So you've got all different types of people coming.
02:50We'll get schools in the morning,
02:52and then you'll find that those kids go home and say,
02:54we went to the Panto, we have to go again,
02:56and then their family will maybe start a wee tradition
02:58where they start to come, and it's just lovely.
03:00Class.
03:01Does being in the Panto put you in the Christmas spirit?
03:04Oh, yeah.
03:05Definitely.
03:06Oh, my God, yes.
03:07Yeah, yeah.
03:08You can't not.
03:09We're musical numbers, and singing and dancing,
03:11and the script's hilarious, and every day is different.
03:14Oh, yeah, totally.
03:15And now the light's going up in Derry,
03:16and it's all getting real,
03:17and you're starting to see the sets and the glitzy costumes.
03:19Panto, to me, is Christmas, you know,
03:21getting together with your family.
03:22But the difficulty is, you guys are nice.
03:24You get to be nice all year.
03:26Like, I spend the whole time being like,
03:28eh, don't judge.
03:29Oh, but we love it, Karen.
03:30Yeah, it's a bit of a different one for me,
03:32because they all hate me.
03:33That's okay.
03:34They love to hate you.
03:35They loved and they do love to hate me.
03:37The cast will play in a ball.
03:38Absolutely.
03:39I know.
03:40Poor me.
03:41Oh.
03:42Some feelings that you're experiencing now,
03:44on the run-up, I mean, it's not too far away now.
03:46I know.
03:47It's a week today.
03:48Excited, but nervous.
03:50Bit nervous.
03:51Bit nervous at the minute,
03:52but I'm excited,
03:53because I would have worked the Panto as an usher last year,
03:56so now I've been on the other side of it.
03:58I'm so ready for, like, the energy of the kids,
04:00and it's going to be amazing.
04:02I can't wait now.
04:03Oh, my gosh, I'm so excited.
04:05I just haven't thought, oh, it's next week.
04:07You know, you just get so,
04:08you're just going day by day,
04:10and you think, oh, yeah,
04:11and then you go, oh, my gosh, no, it's next week.
04:12And it's a long stint, really.
04:13You're the whole of December,
04:1429th to the 31st.
04:17So I'm thinking, oh, my gosh,
04:18it's a marathon, really, not a sprint,
04:19so it's really just kind of pacing yourself
04:21through those shows.
04:23I just can't wait.
04:24I'm just so excited just to see everyone's faces
04:26and hear that crowd.
04:27I think that will give us a new kind of lease of life
04:29as we go forward into the shows, really.
04:31Yeah.
04:32I'm excited.
04:33It's started to come together.
04:34You always have that, like,
04:35everyone rehearses separately,
04:36and then once you piece it together,
04:38it's its own thing.
04:39It becomes like a body,
04:41and that's fine,
04:42and then we go into tech.
04:43Once the curtain opens on that first show
04:46and that wave of noise hits you,
04:48you're like, oh, okay.
04:50Now it's Christmas.
04:51This is it.
04:52Yeah, that's where we are.
04:53So, yeah.
04:54And do you have a message
04:55for people coming to see The Phantom this year,
04:57or maybe a message for people
04:58who've never actually seen The Phantom before?
05:01Get ready to scream your loudest.
05:03I know.
05:04Get stuck in.
05:05Get ready to participate.
05:07Yeah.
05:08You're gonna have a lot of fun.
05:09Yeah.
05:10That's the main thing.
05:11Yeah.
05:12It's so much fun.
05:13And we know when we're having fun,
05:14they're having fun.
05:15Yeah.
05:16So, that's the main point.
05:17Be ready.
05:18And get involved,
05:19because there's lots of audience.
05:20Yeah.
05:21So, we're relying on you guys
05:22as much as you do.
05:23We need you.
05:24We need you.
05:25We do.
05:26Yeah.