Panto has the magic for sellout audiences at Harrogate Theatre as ticket sales soar

Harrogate Theatre's Aladdin panto is a huge hit - Tim Stedman as Wishee Washee, Howard Chadwick as the Dame, Widow Twankey and Colin Kiyani as Aladdin. (Picture Karl Andre Photography)

Ticket sales for this year’s panto at Harrogate Theatre have returned to pre-pandemic levels as the annual festive treat shows how truly magical it is.

At a time when much of the arts sector is struggling to recover from the Covid era amid a growing cost of living crisis for audiences and venues, the impressive success of Aladdin is a vote of confidence in this much-loved arts hub and its family-friendly approach to the art of panto.

Having missed out in 2020 during lockdown, audiences appetites for Harrogate Theatre’s spectacular but intelligent panto is clearly as strong as ever.

A spokesperson for Harrogate Theatre said: "The panto has sold really well this year which is brilliant.

"Ticket sales have gone back to pre-pandemic levels which is incredible.

"It’s had lovely reviews from both the press and audiences as well, so, overall, Aladdin has been a great success."

Avoiding anything vulgar or tacky – much of the popularity of Aladdin, which concludes its run at Harrogate Theatre on January 15, rests on its regular cast members.

This year's production has seen the charming Colin Kiyani return as Aladdin, Christina Harris playing Princess So-S and Howard Chadwick back as the Dame, Widow Twankey.

Most of all, the show boasts the hilarious Tim Stedman as Wishee Washee in his 22nd year in Harrogate panto.

This year’s show is written – as ever – by David Bown, co-credited to the late Phil Lowe, with additional material from Tim Steadman and direction by Marcus Romer.