PANTO season is well under way at a Chester theatre.

Aladdin is being staged by Tip Top Productions and performed at The Forum Studio Theatre throughout this month.

Written once again by Peter Swingler OBE, the show – the 10th pantomime to be staged by the company at the intimate city centre venue – is suitable for all ages runs until Saturday, January 5, 2019.

Speaking about this year's production, Mr Swingler said: "I always have great fun writing the script for panto and once again, we have lots of corny jokes, local references and well-known pop songs together with lots of chances for everyone to boo, hiss and cheer as the story of Aladdin and his magic lamp unfolds."

The fully professional cast includes familiar faces from previous Tip Top Pantomimes including Jade Pritchard as Princess Jasmine, Andrew Rawlinson-Heath as The Slave of The Ring and Dan Ellis as Wishee Washee.

Taking on the title role of Aladdin is rising musical theatre star Ashley Sollars, whose credits include TV show Don't Stop Believing for Channel 5, Hold Tight It's 60s Night for Tip Top Productions, This Is My Musical for Brownpaper Productions and Back to Broadway for Main Feature Productions in Dubai.

Originally from Chester, Ashley spent several years also travelling the world whilst performing in production shows for Princess Cruises before recently returning to the North West.

Following their hilarious antics last year as the Ugly Sisters in Cinderella, Kevin Dewsbury and Ethan Holmes also return with Kevin donning some outrageous outfits once again, this time as Widow Twankey and Ethan channelling his inner villain as the pantomime's very own baddie, the evil Abanazar.

The pantomime is directed for Tip Top by Steve Davies, who said: "We are delighted to see the curtain rise on Chester's very own traditional family friendly pantomime.

"It's great to have Ashley on board this year and to also be welcoming back some familiar faces to our panto family. We are sure that our audiences are in for a magically festive time at The Forum Studio Theatre once again this year".

  • Full details of Aladdin, including performance dates and times, ticket prices including family and group tickets, can be found at www.chestertheatre.co.uk where tickets can be booked online. Alternatively, contact the box office on 01244 341296.