After a year’s break, a popular community pantomime group returns to the stages in the south of the island this weekend.

The Port St Mary Cabaret Party will present its family pantomime ’1001 Arabian Nights’ at the Port St Mary Town Hall over two afternoons, on Saturday 19 and Sunday, 20, February, from 2pm each day.

The panto promises to be full of colourful song and dance numbers, side-splitting and occasionally groan-inducing jokes and plenty of all the fun and frolics you would expect from a community show.

Directed by Lulu Gillow, the show will follow the adventures of Aladdin, played by Nicci Cain, as the hero comes up against various oddball characters, such as Ali Baba and the ’four tea thieves’, played by Victoria Reynolds, Glenys Brunt, Anna Quirk, Sarah Smiley and Kelly Haines, and Sinbad the Sailor and his wise-cracking monkey, played by Lawrence Watterson and Lisa Langton, to win the hand of Leanne Smiley’s Princess.

Cabaret Party founding member Joyce Crook said that the show will be fit for all the family.

’It will be a wonderful show filled with wonderful singing, exotic belly dancing, gorgeous costumes and plenty of jokes,’ said Joyce.

’The play will be fit for the family, but there will be a couple of below-the -belt type of jokes. It wouldn’t be a pantomime without them, would it?’

She said that they are looking forward to returning to entertain following last year’s lay off.

’The Port St Mary cabaret have been going since 1990, and this is our 31st panto’ said Joyce, who has been involved in putting on community shows in the village since 1979.

’In all that time we have only we’ve missed one panto, last year.

’Obviously, that was due to the Covid lockdowns and we were unable to meet or rehearse. We were lucky to get a show in 2020, before everything closed down.

’We write the scripts ourselves, and make all the costumes and props, and it is very much a community show.

’There is a cast of 32 of us in this years show, which is quite a big cast for a small panto, I suppose, but we do want to involve as many people as possible.

’What is nice this year is that we have borrowed some of the panto performers from Peel Pantaloons, including Lisa, Lawrence and Victoria. We also have Duncan Watterson and Mel Read too joining us too. They are both well known for being in the Peel pantos.

’We have been having such fun together putting this show on.

’We are like a family and I think that will really show.’

Tickets for ’1001 Arabian Nights are £8, and £4 for children, available on the door or by phoning 473276.