It’s always a delight to walk into Hackney Empire during pantomime season. It’s a building so rich in panto history that all of those years of gags, slosh and transformation scenes seem to have soaked into the fabric – and the fact that it’s a theatre designed by Frank Matcham means that it’s the perfect auditorium for panto too.

In recent years, an added excitement has been the annual return of Dame extraordinaire Clive Rowe, star of musical theatre but also now at the helm as Director. This year he is as good as ever, and takes no hostages from the moment he enters the stage, clad in the first of many stunning but bizarre outfits by designer Cleo Pettitt. She understands that it is not enough for Dames to have a succession of costumes, they must also be different shapes, constructed of varying materials and always with the surprise element.

But if the costumes are one highlight of this production, the other is a trio of performances. Matching Rowe in exuberance and attack, Rishi Manuel as Wishy has a real gift for panto and seizes the audience whenever he appears; and the inimitable Kat B gives us a sublime top-hatted Genie with the power of Disco, although it is almost the interval before we see him. He seems underused even in the second half, although there is a limit to how often the genie can appear of course.

The rest of the cast more than earn their place at this top panto venue, with Fred Double giving us a truthful and ardent Aladdin opposite Isabella Mason’s princess-substitute Jazz. In this version, she is the daughter of a local millionaire, but still kept hidden away by her father (although she seems able to escape when she wants to). Natasha Lewis is a hissable villain as Abby-Na-Zaar (although the shtick around the name gets a bit tiresome after a while) and is nicely contrasted with Ruth Lynch’s giggly and likeable Spirit of the Ring.

As part of the laudable rewriting of the story (by Will Brenton) to avoid stereotypes, George Heyworth as Mildew Funk plays the part in the plot usually filled by the Emperor. These parts, like Kings and Barons, can be difficult to bring to life and are, at best, secondary characters, but Heyworth takes no prisoners and gives a full-throated, mannered and entirely panto portrayal in what seems to be his first appearance in the genre. Unfortunately, the script makes him something of a secondary villain, with the audience not knowing whether they are supposed to boo him as well as Abby-Na-Zaar. He is also dressed very conventionally in a sharp suit, when an exaggerated costume would have much better matched his performance. He deserves to be given a clearer role and it is, nevertheless, an impressive panto debut.

With a large ensemble and two groups of young performers, there are more people on stage here than in most other productions, and choreographer Myles Brown makes good use of them. There’s a slosh scene too (a little protracted and needs a stronger ending) and a flying carpet; we even get the traditional dialogue at the entrance to the cave and the palace (a wellness spa in this version) is as always flown to a distant land before the lamp returns to its rightful owner.

Always a reliable choice, this Aladdin avoids stereotypes and brings a fresh feel to the story, led by experienced performers. Enjoy!

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Chris Abbott

Aladdin plays at Hackney Empire until 31 December, with further information here.