A GALAXY of stars, favourite faces and newcomers are busy preparing for an epic adventure … in pantoland.
One of the first shows out of the blocks for this year’s festive season is the Theatre Royal Windsor’s production of Aladdin.
Curtain up is on Friday, November 24, and the show runs until Sunday, January 14.
Once again its stars are Basil Brush, Anita Harris, Kevin Cruise and dame and writer Steven Blakeley.
Joining them are musical icon Patti Boulaye and magician Paul Zenon.
Completing the cast are Robby Khela as Aladdin and Carmen Law as Princess Jasmine.
Like all good pantomimes, the show needs little introduction.
Aladdin is a poor boy living in a far-off land who is in love with Princess Jasmine. He will do anything to be with her, even investigating a filthy old cave in search of a magic lamp.
But evil Abanazar has other plans – can true love win, or will the genie’s three wishes go the wrong way?
This is the 15th Christmas that Steven has been at the Theatre Royal Windsor: his first was also Aladdin, with Michael Sharvell-Martin.
He teams up again with Kevin Cruise, who plays Wishee Washy to Stephen’s Widow Twankey.
Outside of the show, he is the current sparring partner of Basil Brush. This year, fox is celebrating 60 years in entertainment and after the panto is preparing to return to Windsor with his Basil Brush Unleashed show.
Patti Boulaye is a West End star with a career spanning 50 years and will be the Genie of the Lamp, no doubt bringing her stunning voice to wow audiences.
Also preparing to wow audiences, but in a different way, is Paul Zenon, who has been a staple of television since the late 1980s with the children’s show Tricky Business.
As the show’s baddie, he will be looking forward to audiences hissing and booing at him and will no doubt have a trick or two up his sleeve.
Robby is new to the Theatre Royal Windsor, but not to the area: he has lived in Slough all his life, and has appeared in a Bollywood version of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.
Carmen is also making her debut in Windsor, and has appeared in several new musicals including Cruel, and Pearl and Dagger.
Tickets cost from £18.50, with family tickets available for select performances. Special pricing is available for school and youth groups.
There will be a relaxed performance at 1.30pm on Tuesday, November 28, and an audio described performance on Wednesday, December 13, at 7pm.
For more details, log on to: theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk or call 01753 853888.
