Kidz R Us: Aladdin.
Photo credit: Martin A Phillips, Kudos Photography

This year's Kidz R Us pantomime is a wonderful example of a much-loved format: quintessentially British and exquisitely performed.

At first, I thought, 'what a predictable and corny way to title the review; then my Pantomime head took charge, 'Oh No it isn't!' because, if pantomime isn't predictable and corny, isn't as camp as Butlins, isn't the whole gamut of entertainment genres packed into two hours (or so) of brilliant entertainment, then what is it? This year's 2011 Kidz R Us production of Aladdin ticks all the above boxes and more besides. The joy of pantomime is not in the story - to be honest, if you don't know the story, you really shouldn't be there; shouldn't be out at all - it's in the telling ('when you see me, shout...'): and, in that, the youngsters whose performances we enjoyed on the night of Monday, 19 December excelled. They told the story with all of the flair, practised comedic craft, great singing and wonderful dancing that we have come to expect from these hard working and well led young people.

The other thing about pantomime is that, while the story and format might be traditional, the delivery must always be contemporary, of the moment, reflective of the day and here, again, Kidz R Us production of Aladdin was right up to the mark. The opening was as you would expect of a pantomime, introducing the main characters against a 'whole cast' performance but when the wicked wizard Abanazar rubbed his ring - please, not your own jokes so soon! - and the Spirit of the Ring appeared, we were immediately into a Rap Panto with a very talented performance from our Spirit on that night.

In fact the singing was altogether great and, like the choreography, wore all the hallmarks of dedication, inspired creation and perfectionist, unremitting rehearsal. Music styles crossed many boundaries from Rap to Soul to Dance to traditional pantomime melodies while jokes, straight from the Christmas Cracker Box, were delivered with such panache that they worked every time. One thing I especially enjoyed was the comic expressions of the dancers in some numbers - if you can be that relaxed, you clearly have the dance itself well under your belt.

As with most Kidz productions, there are nearly two whole casts and, as always, this reviewer is sure that whichever cast you see when you go to the show (note, 'when' not 'if') you'll enjoy every moment. Watch out for the 'Sarf' London street patois Genie, Aladdin and Princess Mandarin, the Emperor, So Shy, and the two Chinese Policemen - what they lack in PC they more than make up for in comedic talent.

Jason Sims as Abanazar is one of the sole players who holds the role for all performances and holds it well. There have been few Kidz productions in recent times when Jason has not been among the hardest working people on stage and, in this role as the wicked wizard Abanazar he excels, bringing that perfect 'love to hate' air to the evening.

Another sole performer is Joe Dann as Widow Twankey whose comic delivery and timing were faultless and massively enjoyable while Tom Parkinson's Wishee Washee was exactly what we expected from the part - quite excellent. Every other part was held by two performers so I'll simply say that the ones we saw set the bar higher than ever, as each Kidz performance does, and we were quite transported by their dedicated and vivacious delivery.

During Aladdin's night flight to Egypt with the Spirit of the Ring, Kidz embarked on a very difficult technique with light, dragons and magic carpets, and pulled it off with a vengeance. Also, the 'Hollywood' style finale showed just how much we now take for granted from our local theatre company. But we should never take anything this good for granted. If we don't support it, then finding the £200,000 needed each year to keep St Ives Theatre open will be that much more difficult. And, in truth, supporting Kidz R Us is sheer pleasure.

As always, these shows don't just appear on stage. It takes the dedication of great scenery builders (and changers), inspired props costumes and make-up, continual back stage and front of house support, superb music and lighting, creative direction and a whole host of supporting parts to bring a truly glittering and thoroughly enjoyable pantomime to our local stage. All the people at Kidz have done that and will be doing it on the 28, 29 and 30 December at 2:00pm and 6:00pm each day.

Don't miss it!

Review by St Ives-based journalist John Hancock