THE Upstagers annual family pantomime is almost upon us.

This year will see the theatre group perform Aladdin at the King’s Hall in Ilkley between January 26 and February 3rd, 2018 with ten performances in all including three matinees.

The show is a traditional telling of one of the classic pantomime tales aimed squarely at a family audience. It is a story that dates back to the 9th Century and 1001 Tales of the Arabian Nights with the first pantomime version appearing on stage in London in 1788. It tells the story of Aladdin, the son of a poor widow washer woman in old Peking. He falls in love with a beautiful princess and must prove himself worthy before he can ask for her hand in marriage. But the evil magician Abanazar needs Aladdin so he can claim a powerful Genie who is trapped in a cave and then rule the world. With the help of his mother, The Widow Twankey and his brother, Wishee Washee, can Aladdin win the hand of his beautiful princess? Will the Emperor of China and his hapless Policemen prevent Aladdin from meeting his true love? Will the wicked Abanazar’s dastardly plan to rule the world be successful? Why not come along to the King’s Hall and find out? Packed full of family fun, superb songs, spectacular dance numbers and some of the worst jokes seen on stage since last year’s pantomime, this is a show not to be missed.

Reprising their hugely successful roles from last year’s pantomime are Elliot Broadfoot as the Dame and George Scaife as the villain, who are being ably supported by a talented cast of local performers.

The director of the show, Andrew Hewitt said: “We have another amazing show on the cards again this year. The team have been working tirelessly to put on a pantomime that we think is going to raise the roof of The King’s Hall. Last year’s production of Jack and the Beanstalk received such a great reception from our audiences and went on to win numerous awards at the theatrical festival competition for this part of Yorkshire, so we are determined to put on another spectacular family pantomime. The cast, from the main principal performers right down to our younger tinies, are so looking forward to entertaining the audiences that we love to see coming through the doors. I’d urge everyone to come along to support our local performers and have a great time whilst doing so.”

Tickets for the pantomime are available on the Upstagers website www.upstagers.org.uk/boxoffice, by calling 0333 666 3366 or by calling the local box office on 01943 607944 (restricted hours apply).