ABSTRACT
Christmas 1881 found Alice once again in Liverpool, the city where she had enjoyed so much success in 1876 and 77. She had been engaged by Frank Emery, lessee of the Prince of Wales Theatre, to star in another pantomime from the prolific pen of John F.McArdle: Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp. Several other Liverpool theatres had pantomimes in rehearsal, but Emery outdid his rivals by opening on December 22, rather than on the traditional Boxing Day. His enterprise was rewarded. Aladdin drew bumper houses for the brief period during which it had the market to itself-and it subsequently maintained an advantage over its competitors because it was by far the most lavish of the city’s seasonal offering
Alice’s name headed Aladdin’s cast list, but her position was essentially that of a guest star: a high-profile artist brought in to entice the public but not expected to play an overly arduous part in proceedings. The main roles in the pantomime were taken by Pollie Randall, who made a dashingly energetic Aladdin, and Ethel Castleton, who was graceful, if a trifle unexciting, as his sweetheart, Princess Badroulbadour. Alice appeared in the secondary breeches part of Pekoe, a young Chinese gallant who tries unsuccessfully to win the princess’s hand. Alfred Hemming threw himself into the villainous role of the Wicked Wizard Abanazer with an oily venom that drew hisses and jeers from the enthralled public, and the pantomime dance role of Aladdin’s ‘s mother, the Widow Mustafa, was played-or, according to some reviews, overplayed-by a popular comedian, William Morgan.
