Aladdin panto shows criticised over all-white casts and 'racist stereotypes'

Two pantomime productions of Aladdin with all-white casts have been criticised for their lack of diversity and 'perpetuating racist stereotypes'.

On Monday, the UK Pantomime Association said it had received complaints about certain Aladdin productions.

Asian actor Irvine Iqbal criticised the production of Aladdin currently running at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool.

Iqbal, who has appeared in a West End production of Aladdin, tweeted: "An all-white cast in a production of Aladdin where the lyrics are 'Come on down to our Oriental Town'."

He called the production "shameful".

Musical theatre actor Benjamin Armstrong tweeted: "I speak about casting authentic actors for Aladdin pantos a fair bit, but this goes beyond that… a white cast singing the line: 'Welcome down to our oriental town'.

"This is 100% utter racism. I am disgusted. There is no excuse for this."

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The Aladdin show in Liverpool, made by Shone Productions, features Scott Sutcliffe as Aladdin, Coronation Street actor Connor McIntyre as Abanazar, The Voice contestant Kelsey Beth Crossley as Princess Jasmine and Nigel Peever as The Emperor.

Ben Williams, commercial director of The ACC Liverpool Group, operator of the Auditorium Liverpool at the M&S Bank Arena, told Yahoo News UK: "Our aim is to provide a varied programme of events, enabling customers to make their own decisions about which shows they wish to attend.

"As the host venue, we did not contribute to the casting process or content, however we understand the concerns that have been raised and are keen to ensure our organisation is somewhere where everyone feels welcome.

"Panto should be entertaining and fun, and it is absolutely not our intention to offend anyone. To that end, we have worked with the production company to review the content, and subsequently changes have been made to some aspects of the performance.

"These are now put in place for all shows from the evening of Tuesday 20 December."

Another Aladdin show, with what appears to be a predominantly white cast, starring Towie's James Argent, is currently being performed by Wicked Productions at The Woodville theatre in Gravesend, Kent.

In a statement, the UK Pantomime Association said: "The UK Pantomime Association and Panto Day are champions of pantomime and take seriously the need for innovation and progression in the sector, including the appropriate casting of performers from the global majority, and removal of racist stereotypes which have historically been depicted in pantomimes.

"We have been made aware of productions of Aladdin that employ racist stereotypes. There is no place for such casting, writing and directing in the pantomime industry today.

"The UK Pantomime Association will be holding the first of its annual pantomime symposiums in association with Staffordshire University in February 2023 and can confirm that there will be a panel addressing inclusivity, diversity and representation."

Yahoo News UK has approached Shone Productions and Wicked Productions for comment.

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