Aladdin Acrostic Synopsis
Aladdin by Peter Denyer
Devonshire Park Theatre, 1995
A long time ago in ancient Egypt, in a city called Thebes, there lived a wicked sorcerer called Abanazar who wanted to rule the world. The mighty Ra, Lord of the Sun, told him that what he needed was the Ancient Lamp of the Orient, whose Genie was the most powerful spirit on earth. But the lamp was hidden in a cave in far-off China. By rubbing a magic ring on his finger, Abanazar summons up the Slave of the Ring who tells him that only Aladdin, the son of the laundress Widow Twankey in Old Peking, can retrieve the lamp for him. So Abanazar sets out to find Aladdin and force him to do his bidding.
Lamps are the last thing on Aladdin’s mind, however. He is fed up with always having to wash other people’s sheets and dreams of being rich one day. His brother Wishee is bored too, and keeps his spirits up by doing magic tricks. But once these facts have been established to the audience’s satisfaction, PC Pongo arrives, clearing everyone off the streets so that the Emperor of China can pass unmolested with his daughter, the Princess Jasmine. There is an ancient law in Peking that says any commoner who sees the Princess must be put to death. But Aladdin laughs off the threat and immediately upon seeing Jasmine, falls in love with her. At the same time he finds out that the Emperor is really very poor and that he is trying to get Jasmine to marry Prince Pekoe, a man she doesn’t love, in order to restore his fortunes. Aladdin promises Jasmine he will become rich somehow and return to claim her hand.
Abanazar meanwhile arrives in Peking and sets about seeking out Aladdin. He finds Widow Twankey’s laundry in the Street of the Goldfish and sweet-talks her into believing he is Aladdin’s long-lost uncle. He promises the boy untold wealth in return for a small favour. So together they journey into the mysterious mountains high above the city and find the cave containing the magic lamp. But Aladdin is suspicious, and will not go into the cave alone until Abanazar gives him his ring as a token of good faith. Once inside the cave, though, it is so dark that Aladdin can’t see a thing. He can find neither the jewels Abanazar promised him, nor the lamp. In a rage, Abanazar rolls a boulder in front of the cave entrance, trapping Aladdin inside. In despair, Aladdin rubs Abanzar’s ring. The Slave of the Ring appears and shows Aladdin the magic lamp. When Aladdin rubs this, the powerful Genie of the Lamp materialises and tell him that not only will he get him out of the cave, he will also help him take away all the riches he wants as well. Aladdin thinks this is a pretty good deal!
Dressed now in sumptuous clothing, Aladdin returns to his family home where Widow Twankey and Wishee are astonished to see him. He conjures up beautiful garments for them too, and has the Genie of the Lamp construct an enormous palace fit for a princess, so that he can bring his bride home in triumph the moment he marries her. Hearing about Aladdin’s new-found wealth, Abanazar vows vengeance.
Disguising himself as a poor pedlar, he visits Aladdin’s glittering palace, offering new lamps for old. Meanwhile, the Emperor and Jasmine have arrived and are amazed to see how the young laundry worker has come up in the world. The Emperor is now all for his daughter marrying the boy, and takes quite a fancy to Widow Twankey himself. When Abanazar arrives, the Emperor, suspecting nothing, happily hands over Aladdin’s lamp to him. Now in charge of the Genie of the Lamp, Abanazar commands that Aladdin’s palace and all its contents be transported back to Thebes where he intends to marry Jasmine. Aladdin and the others arrive back just too late to stop him, but with the help of the Slave of the Ring, Aladdin takes off for Thebes on a magic flying carpet. Widow Twankey and Wishee follow using the Widow’s bus pass.
In Thebes PC Pongo has been appointed Abanazar’s Grand Vizier, but he isn’t enjoying the job much because he doesn’t like the uniform. Aladdin and his family meet up outside the gates of the palace and realise the only way to get close to Abanazar is to pretend to be a group of Moroccan dancers he has hired as entertainment before the wedding. Jasmine is still resisting him as best she can, but Abanazar threatens that if she doesn’t marry him, he will put her father the Emperor to death. On hearing this, the Emperor tries to get Jasmine to see Abanazar’s good points.
Now the entertainment begins and the Shanghai City Ballet perform the Legend of the Willow Pattern, which Abanazar says should act as a cautionary tale to Jasmine about daughters who disobey their fathers. But she is not convinced, and then Aladdin and the others arrive to do their sand dance. They are terrible, but they just manage to distract Abanazar’s attention long enough for Aladdin to sneak up behind him and steal back the magic lamp. Now that he is once more in control of the Genie of the Lamp, Aladdin punishes Abanazar by turning him into a petulant little kid. The Genie then transports them all back to Old Peking, and Aladdin, in gratitude to the Genie, grants him his freedom from the lamp. Aladdin and Jasmine marry, Widow Twankey gives up her laundry, PC Pongo at last gets a colleague to help him with his policing duties (although it doesn’t turn out to be quite the kind of help he was looking for) and they all live happily ever after except Abanazar, but serve him right for being such a hissable old villain in the first place.