Take a magic carpet ride to Cambridge Arts Theatre this Christmas for traditional family pantomime Aladdin.

Opening on Thursday, December 2 and running until Sunday, January 9, 2022, tickets for Aladdin are on sale now.

In December 2020, against all odds, Cambridge Arts Theatre presented Dame Trott’s Panto Palaver, on a socially-distanced basis to 5,500 audience members.

Aladdin will be the venue's first full-scale Christmas production since the theatre’s COVID-19 closure.

Dave Murphy, chief executive at Cambridge Arts Theatre and producer of this year’s pantomime, said: “It feels brilliant to be back and producing the spectacular family pantomime that our audiences know and love.

"Although 2020’s Dame Trott’s Panto Palaver brought joy to so many people across the city, COVID restrictions meant we had to work on a smaller scale than usual.

"Now theatres can safely reopen in line with government advice, we are working on making this year’s show bigger and better than ever before!”

Matt Crosby will star as Widow Twankey. Aladdin will be Crosby’s 16th panto at Cambridge Arts Theatre, with recent credits including Dame Trott’s Panto Palaver and Cinderella in 2019.

Further casting will be announced soon.

In the panto, Aladdin longs for riches, good fortune and his one true love while stuck working in Widow Twankey’s laundrette.

But when the dastardly Abanazar lures him into the depths of a deep dark cave, Aladdin’s life is turned upside down.

With the Genie by his side and the magic lamp in his pocket, Aladdin finds himself on the adventure of a lifetime.

But Abanazar has other plans. Can Aladdin defeat him and win the hand of the Princess, or will he be back in the laundrette before you can say “open sesame”?

Aladdin is directed by Michael Gattrell, who has been involved in over 30 pantomimes.

His recent credits include Dame Trott’s Panto Palaver (Cambridge Arts Theatre), Peter Pan, Cinderella (both Theatre Royal Bath) and Dear Zoo (tour).

Aladdin is written by Al Lockhart-Morley, who has been the resident panto writer at Cambridge Arts Theatre since 2014.

In 2019, creatives at Cambridge Arts Theatre celebrated sparkling success with their production of Cinderella, welcoming over 32,000 adults and children through the doors.

For full information on performance times and ticket prices, visit www.cambridgeartstheatre.com