| Aladdin & his Wonderful Lamp |
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About the pantoOriginally one of the tales told by Scherazade in 1001 Arabian Nights, Aladdin is one of the oldest pantomime tales in existence. Because these tales are so old, many people know of the stories without ever having seen them written down. The tale of Aladdin and the magical lamp he finds in the desert cave depicts the classic struggle between good and evil and also is a forerunner of what is often thought to be the Shakespearian concept of forbidden love, with the poor but good laundry boy falling for the rich, innocent Princess, and two totally different families in between. However unlike Romeo and Juliet, which ends tragically, in the end of the fairy tale Aladdin gets his girl and the money, so it all ends happily. MyLight Productions version of Aladdin has our hero travelling from Peking into the Arabian Desert and then across continents to Egypt, to track down the villain in his lair. It incorporates popular culture with a talent show to pick the act for the villain Abanazer's wedding to the Princess as well as a spooky Mummy which brings a whole new meaing to 'afterlife'. There are jokes aplenty, lively songs and lots of ensemble work as well as a range of strong principal roles. Sample scriptInside Twankey’s Laundry
On one side of the stage is an enormous front loading washing machine which must be practical. On the other side is a large trick mangle, which again must be practical. Strung across the stage is an overloaded washing line which sags dangerously in the middle and in the centre of the stage is a table with a large basket of unwashed clothes, packets of washing powder, soap etc.
On the floor under the washing machine should be a large plastic sheet or preferably some sort of absorbent mat to prevent slipping. The door of the machine must be large enough to accommodate an adult and should also be drilled with lots of small holes through which soap suds can be pumped. You can find another way of getting the soap out, but the general idea is that when the machine goes wrong it churns out lots of soap bubbles through the door area.
When the curtains open, we see Widow Twankey busily putting washed clothes through the mangle and singing tunelessly to herself. Something appropriate such as ‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles’, or ‘Chinese Laundry Blues’ would be good. After as few seconds of this, Aladdin and Wishy enter.
WISHY Hiya, kids!
ALADDIN Mum, mum, where are you?
TWANKEY Here I am. What have you been up to? Have you done your chores?
WISHY Yep, of course I have. I’ve just been mangling the washing and hanging it on the line.
TWANKEY Yeah, and if I know you that isn’t the only thing you’ve been mangling.
WISHY You can talk! And talking of mangling, what was that awful noise in here just now?
TWANKEY Don’t be so cheeky, you. I’ll have you know I’ve got a beautiful singing voice, I have. I could sing any song you wanted, I could.
WISHY Could you sing ‘Over the hills and far away’?
TWANKEY Of course I can …..oh, I’ll do for you one day, my boy. Now stop standing there making disappointing remarks. We’ve got a lot of work to do and I could do with some help. I’ve got a little behind.
WISHY Oh no, you haven’t!
TWANKEY I’ve told you, I’ll….
ALADDIN Oh come on Mum, surely we’ve finished all our work now. Can I have some money to go to the pictures?
TWANKEY You want money to go to the pictures? My mother never gave me money to go to the pictures.
ALADDIN Well you must have had a rotten old mother then!
TWANKEY I’ll let you know I had a better mother than you’ll ever have. (As Aladdin and Wishy go into fits of giggles, she realises what she has said). Oh, silly me!
ALADDIN Come on Mum, we’ve worked really hard today. Give us some money.
TWANKEY Oh, alright then, here you are.(She reaches into the pocket of her apron and hands some cash over to Aladdin, who looks delighted and skips off stage. Wishy holds out his hand expectantly).
WISHY What about me then?
TWANKEY What about you?
WISHY Can’t I go too?
TWANKEY Serpently not!
WISHY Oh, go on!
TWANKEY Look sorry son, but I don’t have enough. Because you didn’t do the rounds yesterday and collect the cash we are now officially skint (she turns away).
WISHY Very well then, from now on, that’s it. You and I are officially strangers. You can go your way and I’ll go mine. If I’ve got to work my fingers to the bone so you can run this place on a skeleton staff, I quit! (He pulls a face, sticking his tongue out at Widow Twankey, who turns round to face him and Wishy quickly puts his tongue back in).
TWANKEY Did you just pull a face at me?
WISHY No, I didn’t. Did I boys and girls?
TWANKEY Oh, yes he did! (The audience will shout back) Let me tell you something my boy, when it comes to pulling faces I can pull a worse face than you.
WISHY Yes, but you’ve got a head start!
TWANKEY If you’re cheeky to me one more time I’ll stop your pocket money.
WISHY You don’t give me any pocket money.
TWANKEY Well I’ll start and then I’ll stop. Now come over here and help me with this washing.
They take the basket of washing over to the machine and start to load it inside the drum.
TWANKEY I nearly won the football pools last week, you know.
WISHY Did you really, Mum?
TWANKEY Yes, my homes were OK, my aways were fine but my draws let me down!
They fall about with laughter as she pulls a pair of tatty old knickers out of the basket and waves them around.
WISHY I see you’re doing the washing for all the posh people from (local posh place) now then, Mum.
TWANKEY Am I?
WISHY Yes. (He pulls out a football team shirt which is riddled with holes. You can chose a local team if you have one, or use a replica shirt from one of the ‘big’ premier league teams) Here, this is full of holes.
TWANKEY Yeah, that’s the holes in their defence! (She pulls out a pair of very large brightly coloured bloomers and sings, to the tune of ‘Wouldn’t it be luverly’ from My Fair Lady) All I want is some knickers like these, to keep me warm from my head to my knees…
WISHY (Pulling a corset out of the basket) Here, what’s this?
TWANKEY Give it here. (She snatches the corset and holds it as if playing an accordion. She sings, to the tune of ‘This is my lovely day’ ) These are my lovely stays, these are the stays I will be wearing the day I’m dying.
There is a loud knocking at the door.
TWANKEY Someone’s ringing the bell. Go and let them in, Wishy.
Wishy moves towards the door and as he approaches it, it opens and in comes Abanazer. Thunder, flickering lights and hopefully, boos from the audience.
ABANAZER Good morrow, fair maid.
Widow Twankey looks around her, and eventually concludes he must be talking to her.
TWANKEY (Simpering) Oh, good afternoon, kind sir.
ABANAZER Are you the Widow Twinkly I have heard so much about?
TWANKEY I am Widow Twankey. What can I do for you?
ABANAZER At last! Your beauty, Madam, is famous far and wide. May the blessings of Allah fall upon your house!
TWANKEY Oh, thank you sir, and on yours!
ABANAZER May Allah be bountiful and give you all that you and yours wish for!
TWANKEY And may he give you yours!
ABANAZER May the stars in heaven light up your life!
TWANKEY And up yours! Order a perusal copy of this scriptYou can either contact us to order a perusal copy and pay by cheque or you can use a credit card and immediately download a perusal copy by using the button below. The script for Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp, a pantomime by Ruth Summerfield |
A simple tale of a boy, a girl and a lamp!