|
Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
Instinctive Acts Panto Christmas 2001
This year’s Instinctive
Acts panto was ‘Aladdin and the Magic Lamp’ ,
which, ‘apart from a custard pie and a pantomime
horse contained everything the one could wish for
... and more’, according to B. Eastwood, HMA
(we do get grand audiences, don’t we?). Another reaction
of someone we wanted to remain anonymous was ‘this
panto does for drama what Attila the Hun did for European-Asian
relations’ .
Here’s the plot for those who don’t know it:
Aladdin is in love with the charming Princess Yasmin.
However, in his penniless state he is unlikely to
get into a position where he could inform the young
lady of his affections. Princess Yasmin isn’t in love
with anyone and would like to be her own girl, an
ambition in which she is supported by her friend Baklava,
less so by her mother Sultana Sunkist and clearly
not by her father Sheik Italla Bout.
Things take a turn for the decidedly chaotic when
Wendy Shoe fitz-Wearit, an evil developer, arrives
on the scene with the intention of tapping the rich
oil deposits of the Sultanate. She enlists the ever
dastardly vizier Janataar and his no less palatable
sidekick Nastimaan to plot against the Sheik in order
to get her hands on the oil, which sounds like a pretty
messy proposition. The vizier sees two ways of bringing
this about: a) by getting his hands on a magic
lamp which would give him infinite powers and may
be quite a painful proposition, or, failing that,
b) by getting the hand of the Princess in marriage,
preferably attached to the rest of her body and thus
securing a pole position in the succession to the
throne. (too many hands dear Franz, too many hands.
ed.) When Janataars plans are all foiled, the only
option open is to abduct the more than reluctant Princess.
Will Aladdin and his trusty friend Buttons save the
the island they call home from the oily clutches of
Wendy Shoe fitz-Wearit? Will the magic lamp make the
difference? Can they defeat Janataar and Nastimaan?
Who’s going to keep Widow Twankey’s house in order?
How many weddings are there going to be at the end
of the panto? Will the audience be able to listen
to the songs and live, or will the groan-provoking
puns reap their toll first?
The script of ‘Aladdin and the Magic Lamp’
is available as a PDF file. It works as family entertainment
(containing few naughty references and most of the
topical ones that might offend the humourless and
the political (same thing?) can removed easily. However,
generally reat care was taken to avoid offense, but
then those who want to be always succeed in being
offended. Interested? Drop us a line.
‘Cara’, the Alive and Rocking CD
Summer 2001, December 2001
I’d like to take this opportunity to plug Alive
and Rocking this thoroughly exiting music and
minority languages project.Only marginally connected
with the usual activities of this website, it is nevertheless
an artitistic achievement in which I’m proud to have
been involved, in the minor capacity of acting as
a go-between and sort of creative writing midwife
for lyrics where more than one language was used in
a song and to contribute texts to the CD booklet as
well as their website. This website will tell you
what the whole thing is all about: you can read a
blow-by-blow account on the project, which took groups
of young musicians from the Celtic language groups
in Scotland and Ireland as well as from the various
Rumantsch areas in Switzerland first to the Scottish
Isle of Skye and then to Laax in Switzerland for an
original concert programme fusing musical styles and
their respective languages. And the resulting live
CD
is just great. Listen
in and you’ll see, or hear, rather.
|
more mixed pickles
There
were some good things about September 2001 as well,
most notably the British Council creative writing
seminar in Chäseren with Roger
McGough and Franz. Swiss teachers got together
in this lovely spot in the Appenzell hills, surrounded
by the most stunning but - for the duration of the
seminar - invisible countryside, and spent their time
writing, listening to each others work and editing
theirs on the basis of criticism from the group and
the two moderators.
Working
with Roger was extremely stimulating, a true whiz
at work, both as far as his poetry readings are concerned
as well as how he gets people to write. The three
days were full of activities, partly moderated by
Roger, partly by Franz. The activities explored such
approaches to writing as riddles and the way in which
they can free our minds from the predictability of
everday thinking, to mining your memory as a way to
bring to life a person or an episode from one’s experience.
There
is a dossier of poems and texts which so far has gone
to the participants. It is hoped, however that, workload
in the next few weeks and, of course, the authors
permitting these texts will go on-line, togehter with
some haikus Roger wrote in Chäseren and a new
poem of his which we discussed. Watch this space!
The
title of the book behind which secret negotiations
are going on (or as some more up-to-date usage has
it ongoing), is The Creative Writer’s Craft, highly
recommended, by the way. 