You can expect plenty of high flying thrills, magical adventures, colourful characters and a story full of eastern delights at the Gaiety theatre this Christmas.

This year’s Pantomime production at the theatre is the classic tale "Aladdin".

Produced by Dreamstar, the theatrical production group responsible for some of the biggest and most ambitious stage shows held in the Gaiety in recent memory, "Aladdin" features a starring cast of some of the strongest stage talent the island has to offer.

Jack Divers will take on the lead role of Aladdin, the street-wise urchin who stumbles across a magic lamp.

As the famous story goes, he releases a magical genie, who grants him three wishes, and so unleashing a whirlwind of crazy antics and fantastical adventures that bring Aladdin up against all manner of colourful and villainous characters.

Along the way he also falls for the charms of Princess Jasmine, who he takes on a magical flying carpet ride.

David Lyons will play the role of the Genie, and princess Jasmine will be played by Anne-Marie Craine, who excelled earlier this year in the role of Elle in the production of Legally Blonde.

Elsewhere, the familiar faces of Gary Chatel and Chris Cain play the Emperor Poo and the evil Abanazar respectively, and Alice Smith will be the slave of the ring.

Sonia Callin and Kyle Withington will provide the comic relief, playing the comedy duo PC Ping and PC Pong and, of course, no panto will be complete without the traditionalpanto dame.

Matt James will don the greasepaint, lipstick and overly-stuffed corset to play the outrageous Widow Twanky.

Adding to the magic will be a stage full of special effects, including a life-like baby elephant, called ’Squirt’.

There will also feature a cast of 80 children, split into two teams, each providing a mammoth chorus line of 40 children in each show.

Producer David Artus, who also plays the role of Aladdin’s brother, Wishee Washee, said that selecting the huge cast of children for the chorus line was an enjoyably difficult task.

’This time has been a big challenge largely because we have a large group of children in the production,’ said David. ’I think we had something like 160 kids show up just to audition.

’We have never had so many kids in Panto before and it’s been a bit of a challenge. They were all really good, which made the process of choosing them very rewarding.’

Dreamstar Productions have carved a reputation for creating amazing, grand stage productions in recent years, and have never shied away from going one the extra step to provide a thrilling night of entertainment with their shows.

Their last Pantomime production was "Puss In Boots" , and their previous Pantomime production in 2010, ’Peter Pan’ still holds the record as the most watched show in the history of the Gaiety, with more than 12,000 people coming through the doors to watch the spectacular show.

Despite this, David promises that "Aladdin" will be their biggest production yet.

’We like to think that we are partly responsible for a big increase in the Panto going audience figures over the years,’ said David.

’We raised the quality level by spending more on scenery, costumes and effects, but more importantly we invested time and effort to make our shows special for a Manx audience.

’We understand that Panto is very often the first live theatre a child will see, it has to be truly magical. However the challenge is always to make panto entertaining for all age groups. We work pretty hard on the scripts to keep the whole family happy.

’With Aladdin, magic is featured very heavily. The whole play has a very magical feel to it, and it takes a lot of work to capture that "magic".

’This time around we will have lots of flying scenes flying. I am very sure that what we are attempting to perform has never been tried here on the island before.’

’Aladdin’, which is sponsored by the 118 Foundation, opens on Thursday, December 21, and will run everyday, except Christmas day, until Thursday, January 4.

Tickets start from £18, and are available from the Villa Marina Box office, by phoning 600555, the Welcome Centre or online at villagaiety.com

by Mike Wade

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