INCREDIBLE. That was the opinion of one young theatre-goer about this year’s Mercury pantomime.

And she was right. This is the tenth Mercury panto I’ve reviewed, and I can honestly say it is the best so far.

It really does have everything. Spectacular, colourful sets, side-splitting slapstick, perfectly executed dance routines and a magical story.

From the first scene, when we get a glimpse of Aladdin’s cave overflowing with gold, to a flying carpet, which rides through the skies, this show is a sumptuous feast for your eyes.

The scene where Aladdin and evil Abanazer climb a rocky, mountainous ledge to reach the snake’s head entrance to the cave is perhaps the best example of this.

There’s plenty of fun and laughter as well, led by the brilliant pairing of Dame Widow Twankey played, by Tim Treslove, and Wishee Washee, performed, by Dale Superville.

Aided by a very familiar meerkat, and a crazy laundrette in which the suds really do fly, the humour had both young and old in stitches.

The show had a particularly good baddie in David Tarkenter’s Abanazer, who relished in the boos and hisses with a dramatic, but brilliant, tongue-in-cheek performance.

That’s before we even come to the star of the show, the genie. To say how the Mercury portray this iconic character would kind of give the game away. So let’s just say in terms of humour it’s very reminiscent of the Disney genie and in terms of practicalities, without the animation, it’s cleverly done.

It’s a great family production with plenty for the children to laugh and wonder at, while the grown-ups sit and soak up the fun atmosphere.

Neil D’Arcy-Jones