Magic carpet prepares take-off for last time this weekend at Milton Keynes Theatre

No ifs, no buts, just the plain fact of the matter, Aladdin at Milton Keynes Theatre (MKT) is everything you could wish for in a panto.

And coming at the end of the theatre’s 20th anniversary year with all its attendant birthday celebrations there was no way it was ever going to be anything less.

Aladdin has adventure, danger, romance, magic, slapstick and loads of jokes.

Add the wild and wacky Joe Pasquale as Wishee Washee and the cute and cheery Lee Mead as Aladdin into the mix and you’ve got the most magical carpet ride through the streets of Old Peking that you could hope for.

Just ask the 70,000 people aged between two years old and 92 years young who saw and loved the show; the audience members who cheered, booed, laughed and applauded their festive socks off.

And speaking of socks... the 7 principal actors, 8 ensemble performers and 17 local children got through quite a few pairs between them.

Widow Twankey’s twelve costume changes certainly kept the wardrobe team busy throughout the 62 performances, while the dozens of metres of stage cloths and scenery flown in could have covered the entire building – like a beautifully wrapped Christmas present.

Live theatre – and pantomime especially - is an experience that everyone should be able to enjoy.

That is why MKT and Qdos Productions arranged a captioned performance as well as a signed performance for deaf and hearing impaired customers, a touch tour as well as an audio described performance for the blind and visually impaired customers and a relaxed performance for people with autism or sensory communication disorders and for people with learning difficulties or dementia.

And, MKT’s Creative Learning team delivered two Aladdin themed family workshops and four backstage tours. Oh yes they did!

As for MKT’s next pantomime adventure which opens on Saturday, December 12 - Watch out; it’s going to be a GIANT of a show.