05 Dec 2025
Laura Bill drops in backstage at the Alban Arena for a fly on the wall look at the rehearsals for this year’s panto Aladdin…
Day five in the Alban Arena rehearsal room (best said in a Geordie accent) and the vibe is intense. There’s just so much love and energy that it gave me all the feels from the minute I arrived.
The front of the Arena is a ghost town so I go down the side opposite the magistrates’ court, where there are plenty of worried-looking men in suits chain-smoking but not a dame in sight.
I keep walking to the stage door and let myself in. It feels a bit naughty but I tell myself I am a serious grown-up professional and they know I am going there to do serious grown-up things so it’s probably okay.
I sneak into the rehearsals and plonk myself on the floor with my coffee. The actors offer me their chairs but I’m happy on the floor. Like a fly on a wall.
Steve McFadden and Bob Golding are going over some lines: “Terrible traffic chaos – it’s going to be chaos in St Albans,” said Steve as per the script.
This is particularly funny to me because last time we met he explained that when first came to St Albans from London he thought he was coming to the country but quickly realised the city centre was a busy place.
We are in the downstairs bit of the Arena where the toilets are and there is a sea of black and white New Balance trainers with white socks.
This is just a coincidence, promises Rosanna Harris, who is playing The Spirit of The Ring.
Actors-out-of-costume style is very similar to singers-pre-performance style – of which I am familiar – but more sporty. Joggers, track tops, crop tops and beanie hats, sprinkled with a touch of Fame.
Rosanna said she’s really enjoying rehearsals. She only lives up the road in Radlett so can easily commute and she is excited that 300 of her students are coming to see the show. Usually they don’t make it because Rosanna’s previous pantos have been too far away but because they are all so local, they’ve booked tickets.
I asked her about panto rehearsal wear, thinking maybe it’s a theme I could pass onto Deryane at The Dressing Room for next season.
She said: “Loads of gymwear. A few of us have exactly the same New Balance trainers and the same socks. It’s the trend, don’t you know?” she laughed.
She is full of positive energy and proves to have a great set of pipes on her as she does a duet with Jamal Kane Crawford, who is playing the Genie of the Lamp. Being in a small space with all those people and belting out songs without a mic is not easy yet Rosanna makes it look as if anybody could do it.
Bob and Steve are practising a scene and the dynamic between them is magic. They’ve been friends for years and you can tell, as they are comfortable together and naturally hilarious too.
Director Jo Parsons describes Bob as “the glue that holds it all together” and I couldn’t have put it better myself. And I’m not talking Pritt Stick either. There is a purposeful calm amid the deliberate chaotic fun and the cast really are working together like clockwork. It’s a super functional family.
Jo mistakenly mentioned that he works on Les Mis which obviously prompts me to start singing Lovely Ladies in a Cockney accent right in his face. Luckily this kind of behaviour is basically the norm in the performing arts world so no dramas.
I stick my head into the wardrobe department for a chat with head of costume Jordan Graff and wardrobe assistant Carys Lester, backdropped by an impressive rail of all of Bob’s many flamboyant costumes as Dame Dolly.
It is Jordan’s first-ever panto and she said having Carys’ experience from previous years is really helpful as Jordan usually works on films and TV shows like Strictly Come Dancing: “It is so fun and light-hearted but still everybody works really hard.
“Everybody is lovely – it is an instant community. Having Carys has been wonderful because she was here last year. What is also nice is that because all the costumes are brand new we are doing tweaks rather than wear and tear.”
One of the absolute stars of the panto shenanigans is Emily Davis-Wells who is choreographing the whole show. She is super talented and organised and one of those people you just instantly would trust with your eight-week old puppy, elderly grandma or toddler. Every year she literally blows my mind with her creative talent and fantastic energy.
I ask her how the children are doing. The child dancers are an essential part of the ensemble every year and are only there for rehearsals after school. The production switches between two teams of eight so that they each get plenty of rest days.
“The children are brilliant,” Emily enthuses. “I can teach them for 20 minutes and they’ve got a whole routine perfect.”
I grab Bob for a few minutes to see how he’s doing. He said he misses his dachshund Dudley and was reminded of him while getting a coffee at Nkora that morning.
“I saw a lady with two sausage dogs and asked what it’s like having two and she said ‘Well, when I had one it was all calm and lovely and then two is madness!’ which made me think because we are planning on getting another one.
“This year is going to be the best-ever show. It’s going so well and we are really excited for our audience.”
In the background somewhere, I hear Steve start singing I Predict a Riot, but just then Dave Bibby, who is playing Charlie, comes over to talk to me so I turn my attention towards him instead.
He reveals how pleased he is about recently winning an Amused Moose Edinburgh Award, recognising the best Fringe comedy shows by comedy performers who consider themselves to be relatively unknown.
Dave, who lives in Welwyn Garden City, has two young sons aged three and five, and he says “they’re still at the age where they are not embarrassed by their dad in panto”.
Dave tells me how when they recently took a bus journey his son was astonished to see the Aladdin advert wrapped on the side of the vehicle, including a photo of the cast, prompting him to say he’d been on “the genie bus”.
Steve has gone all EastEnders: “Princess – you either agree to marry me or you’ll never see the light of day again!” he tells Princess Jasmine.
Jo pipes up with some pointers: “That’s great. Let the mummy come in now. There’ll be kids crying and stuff and then you chase it upstage…”
He says this in a matter of fact tone and has such a relaxed persona that it obviously helps to get the job done. He doesn’t interrupt the cast much but when he does it’s to clarify stage directions or to make a suggestion about the delivery of a line.
Jo was in four pantos with Evolution Pantomimes before coming back to direct and seems genuinely excited by the camaraderie and talent in the room: “Everybody compliments everybody really well. Steve and all the other principals are working together great. There’s a brilliant vibe. Bob is the glue of the show but well anchored by Damian (Patton) and Dave who bring a different energy. The singing is outstanding too.”
Phil Mitchell himself, aka Steve McFadden, is sat at a small round table going over his lines, and so I take the opportunity to ask how he’s doing.
“It’s going well,” he said. I asked him if he managed to park alright as he aptly said St Albans was like a car park when last we spoke.
This time he wisely came on his scooter which he said is great for getting through the traffic, especially as at lunchtime he’s off to Borehamwood for EastEnders.
I ask if he has seen his colleagues Balvinder Sopal in Strictly or Shona McGarty in I’m a Celebrity. He said he’s seen Bal and she’s great and really enjoying it but he hasn’t watched Celebrity yet.
That’s hardly surprising as it must be extremely full-on juggling everything, but he looks very fresh with plenty of energy. He’s not even clutching a cup of caffeine either like some of the younger ones are.
Has Steve ever been asked to be in any reality TV shows? “No, I haven’t. It’s not really my thing,” he admits.
He said he’s not really a dancer but he loves music, and Led Zeppelin is his favourite band of all time.
Is there anywhere he likes going in St Albans?
He says he was going to go with Bob to a restaurant that is Indian and French, but it was closed. I think he is referring to Chez Mumtaj so I tell him it’s really good and definitely worth a visit. He’s been going into Costa quite a bit too as it’s just across the road.
Genie Jamal adds that he has also been commuting in from London each day, and goes to Black Sheep twice a day for coffees. He said rehearsals are “going amazingly” and he loves “the vibe in the room”.
Aladdin is being played by Iverson Yabut. I ask if he will be flying but he says he has signed an NDA and cannot reveal anything. Exciting. The twenty-eight-year-old said he loves Charlie’s Coffee Company so maybe that will be giving him his wings. Who knows? Not long until we find out though…
This year’s production promises to be the biggest and most spectacular family pantomime yet with lavish sets, hilarious jokes, and fun for everybody. I honestly cannot wait. I leave the Arena feeling full of joy and human kindness. What a fabulous bunch of people. They deserve a full house.
There are some Aladdin tickets still available at Aladdin | Everyone Theatres from £16 and the show runs from Friday December 5 until Wednesday December 31.
