Claire Burlington

This was a tricky project for emotional reasons and also because of the practicalities of joining the team late in the day – everything else was well under way. The wonderful Christopher Richardson, the powerhouse behind the Pleasance, had excellent plans for the set, and the majority of the songs and lyrics had already been written by the prolific and delightful Alexander Bermange. The ghostwritten (oh, for a synonym) script was to be based on Charlie’s notes and, knowing that I would never be able to write like him, I made the decision to use his characters and to keep as much of his plot outline as possible, but not even attempt to imitate his writing style. I also decided to add various things for the under-7s, such as a really big pair of magic underpants, and popped in a character called Charlie.

The show was staged in 2005/6 at Pleasance Islington and was the first production to receive funding from Charlie’s Special Reserve. Russell Labey directed and wisely truncated the complicated second act, giving it a neat and tidy finish. He also added some more traditional panto elements which his exuberant Widow Twankey delivered with aplomb.

Aston, Princess Masha Yabooty’s aphorism-spouting bodyguard was my favourite character to write. I quite often don’t remember lines I’ve written, but two of Aston’s lines from this show stick in my head: the unintentionally filthy

‘With tender gardener, even ugly bush blossom’

and the sentimental but undeniably true

‘Big heart like bad hotel – always have spare room’.

You can read the reviews for Aladdin, collated by Alexander Bermange, here.

You can also read a few of Charlie’s legendary contributions to The Guardian’s Notes and Queries here and here.