It's the season for panto-h yes it is!!!

Aladdin at The Princess Theatre in Hunstanton promises to be 'bold, breathtaking, and guaranteed to amaze!'

This is the last dress rehearsal before the excitement begins, and as cast members do vocal warm ups, I get to chat to Sam Littlewood, who plays Aladdin.

“It brings out that excitement, that build up to Christmas, that magic - even for the grown ups it brings it back a little bit - I think that’s the great thing about panto there’s something for everyone.

“This show is probably the biggest we’ve had - it’s the most technical, we’ve got so many surprises, it’s going to be such a great show for everyone.”

Sam Littlewood as Aladdin

The lights go down, the music begins and soon this year’s dame makes her entrance, “Cooee, it’s me…Widow Twankey, hellloooooo!”  And we're off.

Josh Rettie, who played the Prince last year, says, “Being a dame, any dame, you can kind of just have fun with it all, you can play around, mess around and just make sure everyone’s having a good time really.”

Josh Rettie as Widow Twankey

And I do, for just over 2 hours I'm happily entertained.

The antagonist, Jafarazad (Jess Broadbent), gets us booing and hissing, Princess Jasmine (Freya Barton) has us singing along to a few numbers - dancing along with Rollason Stage School. 

And of course there's plenty of shouting 'it's behind you!' I even manage to catch a bag of sweets.

Jess Broadbent as Jafarazad

Those surprises?  Given it's Aladdin, there are some flying carpets involved, but I won't ruin all the tricks.

The Princess Theatre says it's the only one with a rig that can perform some of the stunts though - just to wet your appetite.

For what my opinion's worth - I'd say the cast is ready for a live audience!

Sam adds, “That first show, that first run down to the front and you go hi everyone, and everyone screams it back to you, and you hear everyone chuckling to the all the bits and pieces you’ve been working so hard on - it really does make every little bit of it worth it.

“We’re the best panto in the entire UK at the minute - in the world - I’m not biased,” he laughs, “But it is such a great show this year, and honestly it is the best job in the world.”

Lewis Southall, who's the Emperor (Princess Jasmine’s father), sums it all up better than me - “Panto is Christmas, it is Christmas in a nutshell.”

And with National Panto Day fast approaching (12th December) - make sure you don't miss out on the magic!

Lewis Southall as the Emperor

Aladdin at The Princess Theatre in Hunstanton runs from December the 6th until the 4th of January.  For more information https://www.princesshunstanton...

All images Ian Burt