Meet Clive and Danny - Stars of Newcastle Theatre Royal's Aladdin
As father and son comedy duo Danny Adams and Clive Webb take on a brand-new staging of Aladdin, they reflect on 20 years as stars of the panto at Newcastle Theatre Royal.
This year’s panto is Aladdin - tell us what’s in store for audiences?
Danny: It’s a brand-new pantomime, and it’s fantastic! It’s based on the story of Aladdin, but it has a North East, Newcastle feel to it. It’s been completely rewritten for our audiences. The people who’ve been coming to the panto every year will know what to expect – it’s going to be bigger and better than ever before.
How good is it to have a loyal Newcastle audience?
Danny: Each time we do the panto, the audience embrace it – there’s no place in the country like Newcastle for the pantomime. For our style of comedy, the daft and silly slapstick, the Geordies are the best audience, they’re the daftest people around – in the best possible way.
Clive: I’ll second that – brilliant audiences!
When you started out in panto, did you foresee that you’d be doing it for 20 years at Newcastle Theatre Royal?
Danny: We only came here for one year: Cinderella with Jill Halfpenny, and at that point we had no idea it would turn into 2 decades. Then we got asked back, and asked back again, and here we are, 20 years later!
Clive: It’s been marvellous – I just hope there will be another 20 years.
Looking back over 20 years, how have things changed and how have you developed the panto?
Clive: The pantomime has changed a lot. From when we started, the spectacle of the panto is now huge.
Danny: The special effects and technology are now different level, but the comedy and slapstick is still the same. I’m not saying it’s old fashioned, there’s a modern twist on it.
Clive: Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, all that sort of stuff – still, all these years later, people laugh at it don’t they?
Danny: Yes, but nobody else does it, you don’t see this type of humour anywhere else, pantomime has got a uniqueness about it.
What is it that makes panto at Newcastle so special for you?
Both: The audience!
Danny: The pantomime does get bigger and better every year, and people embrace it. It’s turned into this huge tradition, and it’s known across the country as being one of the biggest and best in business.
Is it like one big family?
Danny: It’s great working with my dad, and brother Mick and the whole team because over the years, we’ve had a lot of people join, like Joe, and we’ve got a real connection. And the fun we have on stage is genuine being close friends, it’s just great.
Tell us about a memorable moment from the past 20 years:
Clive: We have a comedy car which drops to bits, the whole thing falls flat. I pull a lever, and a mudguard will fall off, and then we do a bit more, and something else falls off, and the final one, you pull a lever and the whole thing goes. It’s usually about an 8–10-minute routine and it’s filled with all these gags. I came on and pulled the wrong lever and it all fell to bits – and we had 8 minutes to fill while they were changing the scene behind us. Eight minutes is a long time!
How much are you looking forward to it being your 20th anniversary?
Clive: Every year we say we can’t wait, but this year, with it being our 20th anniversary and with it being a completely new twist on Aladdin, it’s going to be fantastic!
Danny: It’ll be running for eight weeks, and it will be bigger and better than ever!
Aladdin plays Newcastle Theatre Royal until Sun 18 Jan 2026. Tickets can be purchased at www.theatreroyal.co.uk or from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 0191 232 7010.
Image: Clive Webb and Danny Adams in 2021's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at Newcastle Theatre Royal
