Get ready to be swept away to a whole new world at York Theatre Royal this Christmas.
We met the cast of Aladdin at York Theatre Royal this week – who are excited to be bringing this magical extravaganza to York.
The family pantomime will feature Cbeebies and CBBC star, Evie Pickerill, as the Spirit of the Ring and West End’s Sario Solomon as the titular Aladdin.
York favourites Robin Simpson and Paul Hawkyard are reunited as Dame Dolly and villainous Abanazar, with Emily Tang as Princess Jasmine and Tommy Carmichael as Charlie.
Aladdin is at York Theatre Royal from Tuesday 3 December 2024 to Sunday 5 January 2025.
Children’s TV star Evie Pickerill is one of the main presenters on CBeebies, she regularly hosts on CBBC and has guest starred on Blue Peter. And she’s no stranger to pantomime – but this year is a new role for her.
“I’ve always played the princess before so I’m really excited to play the Spirit of the Ring,” Evie told YorkMix.
“With live theatre you’ve got your audience right in front of you, so it’s a different set of skills. But it’s so rewarding – because in my job, we don’t really get to meet our audience so it’s really lovely.
“I’m really excited to be in York, I’ve heard that it’s absolutely beautiful at Christmas.”
Returning York favourite Robin Simpson will once again be playing the Dame this year. He returns as Dame Dolly after a hat-trick of main stage pantomime appearances as Ugly Sister Manky in Cinderella, Mrs Smee in All New Adventures of Peter Pan and Dame Trott in Jack and the Beanstalk.
“It’s really nice to come back every year and do panto here in York,” said Robin. “It’s always great getting in front of audiences and getting their response.
“It’s a real family feel here, behind the scenes and on stage and the audience too. It’s such a great theatre, and the audiences are lovely. The script’s really funny and the rest of the cast are always lovely and creative. It’s one big happy family!”
Robin explained that the schedule is “usually quite intense, so you’ve got to keep yourself fit and healthy as much as possible. It’s a marathon really. We do about four or five weeks of shows, but we’re doing two shows a day, so you could end up doing 12 shows a week and they’re quite physical.”
Aladdin is produced by Evolution Productions, with writer Paul Hendy and director Juliet Forster – the same creative team behind past York Theatre Royal pantomime hits Cinderella, All New Adventures of Peter Pan, and Jack and the Beanstalk.
Tickets for Aladdin are currently on sale, and start from £15 via the York Theatre Royal website. Family tickets are available for all performances.
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