Jo Servi will be our Sultan as Disney's Aladdin flies into Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre from September 5-29.
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00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, group answer to Sussex Newspapers, and well, it's
00:07not often you get to speak to the sultan, but I am today, the sultan in the shape of
00:12Joe Servi, from Aladdin the musical, and he's already in the part, I can see, Aladdin, which
00:20is on its way to Southampton's Mayflower Theatre. Now, an exciting prospect, you opened in October,
00:28so goodness, you've been on the road for a long time, haven't you?
00:31For a long time, and there's a while to go yet, we don't finish until January,
00:38where we'll be in Liverpool.
00:39And for that length of tour, you've got to love the show, haven't you?
00:43Oh, you can't do this job without loving it, yeah.
00:51And what makes Aladdin such a great show to be in, do you think?
00:54What makes Aladdin such a great show, there's excitement, there's jeopardy, there's romance,
01:00there's magic, there's colour, it's a story that's been around a long, long, long time,
01:10and there's a reason for that. If you don't know it, then, well, as I say, I read it as a boy,
01:17and it still holds a very special place in my heart. I know what comes, but it's still
01:24a very special place in my heart.
01:26And this is a musical that harks back to the animated film from the early 90s.
01:30To the animated film in the 90s, with Robin Williams playing the genie. I have heard that
01:36he gave them enough material when filming that to produce another mix.
01:42You could imagine, yes. He had momentum, didn't he, once he got there, amazing talent he was.
01:49But tell me a bit more about the Sultan, then. You're presiding over everything,
01:53you're all-powerful, you're mighty, what are you?
01:56I am omnipotent. Nothing happens without my say, so, yes, I preside over the glorious city that is
02:07Agrabah, I maintain order and keep the peace, I uphold the ancient ways and traditions, and there
02:15is a certainty and a stability in that, I think. And with any monarchy, I think there's something
02:23that's always to be rooted in the past. And as my sister would say, a man with no past is like
02:27a tree without roots. You have to know where you've come from to know where you're going.
02:30And you are a good man.
02:32I am a good man. No, I am, I am.
02:38Fantastic. And it sounds like you've been getting some fantastic responses from audiences.
02:42Wonderful responses. For me, the greatest audiences are our children and the fact that,
02:50because this was originally put out by Disney on stage for the people who were children when
02:59the cartoon came out. But of course, they then returned with their children. And yeah, there's
03:06nothing like performing for children, because for them, the possibilities are endless. The
03:11imagination. I think as we get older, we get a bit, yeah, we kind of get a bit rooted in reality,
03:18but for them, you can be transported anywhere, and you really do go. And I think that's one of
03:24the things that I remember as a child.
03:26And that must be lovely, the fact that you're leading the transporting of the children in the
03:31imagination.
03:31I hadn't, you know, I hadn't thought about that. Yeah. I am another kind of sultan, I suppose.
03:39Brilliant. Well, the show Aladdin the Musical is at the Mayflower Theatre soon.
03:44Really lovely to speak to you, Joe. Thank you very much for your time.