WHEN I was given the opportunity to see one of my favourite childhood tales in panto, I jumped at the chance.

The show, which is running at the Muni in Colne until January 19, is directed and produced by panto stalwart George Critchley, of PMA productions.

Having seen many of PMA’s pantos before, expectations were high — and, once again, I was not disappointed.

This year his talented cast features Ricardo Castro in the title role, alongside Joanna Hughes as the delightful Princess Yasmin.

Bringing the star element to the show is Darren John Langford, who played Spencer Gray in popular soap Hollyoaks, as The Emperor of China.

The show tells the tale of a young, poor boy Aladdin who lives in Peking with his mother Window Twankey. He is recruited to find a magic lamp by his evil and mysterious Uncle Abanazar.

Aladdin meets the beautiful Princess Yasmin and is double-crossed by his uncle, finding himself trapped in the Cave of Wonders, and discovers a genie in a lamp.

This year it was clear to see that PMA productions had gone all out to wow the audience, with even more special effects, elaborate scenery and even a six-foot camel and an elephant making appearances walking around the stalls.

Once again, the vocal ability of all cast members was extremely impressive, with musical highlights including an ingenious spoof Queen medley and a jaw-dropping medley of Adele’s Someone Like You and Rumour Has It.

The hilarious Keith De’Winter once again played the role of Widow Twankey to perfection. However, an update on his costume and make-up wouldn’t go amiss.

Having taken along a most fierce panto critic, my five-year-old son, the show was given a huge seal of approval.

However, he did find the first half a little too lengthy and I found his attention started to wander.

Both he and I were very impressed, if not a bit scared, by Jonathan Metcalf’s interpretation of the evil Abanazar.

But despite impressive vocals, I was left wanting just a bit more mischievousness from Ricardo Castro’s Aladdin.

That said, the show is highly entertaining and certainly not one to be missed.

Christmas may be over but, with Aladdin, the panto season is still with us until next Sunday.

For further information on times and tickets, call the Muni box office on 01282 661234.