Aladdin’s lamp just got camp!
SHE’S BEHIND YOU! Ooh, we love a panto dears. They’re just the right mix of naff, camp and nutty. There’s something quintessentially BRITISH about a panto isn’t there. And no, not in that awful ‘great british values’ brexit sort of way. More in that ‘what the fuck is this all about?’ sort of way. Like, Americans would see a panto and not have the slightest idea what was going on, or why it was happening.
Something that’s emerged in droves in recent years, perhaps as a tonic to our increasingly bleak everyday lives, is the ADULT PANTO. Full of dirty jokes and shameless innuendo, adult pantos have been popping up every year from Tiverton to Tunbridge Wells.
Well, the RVT Panto was one of the first ever adult pantos! We’re all about championing original ideas here at QX. Original ART even. Are pantos “art”? Is that a bit of a stretch? Well, art is in the eye of the beholder, dontchaknow. Someone said that once.
This year, the panto is ALADDIN THEMED. It’s called “Rubbed!” (let jokes about rubbing the lamp ensue) and it stars, left to right, Alan Hunter, Robert McNeilly, Topsie Redfern, Faye Reeves and Rich Watkins. Written by Paul Joseph and Tim Benzie and directed by RVT Panto veteran Tim McArthur. Oh and let’s not forget fab costume design by Bourgeoisie of Cut A Bitch Designs (what a name!)
So, whether you’re a dame or damsel, a wizard or wench – or, indeed, all four – get yourselves down to the RVT this Christmas to feast your eyes and ears on some fabulous, kaleidoscopic, surreal, escapist, wonderful nonsense! HOORAY!
Rubbed! is at The Royal Vauxhall Tavern on 21st, 28th and 30th of November, then throughout December. For tickets and full listings, head to vauxhalltavern.com. It’s also at St Mary in the Castle, Hastings, on Saturday 1st December.
