Panto Is Back As Aladdin Flies Onto the Oldham Coliseum Stage

The North West’s favourite traditional pantomime is back for 2021 as Aladdin flies onto the Oldham Coliseum stage for a magic carpet ride packed with hit songs, slapstick, silliness and a generous helping of IT’S BEHIND YOU!

My family and I love the panto at Oldham Coliseum and are over the moon to be invited once again to their opening night performance. This will certainly start the festive season off for us!

When Aladdin finds a magic lamp it seems that all his dreams have come true, but hiding in the shadows the evil Aunty Banazar has a scheme to steal the lamp and use it to rule the land. With the help of the Genie, join Aladdin as he tries to save Princess Jasmine, Oldham and the world!

Aladdin runs from Saturday 13 November 2021 – Saturday 8 January 2022.

Oldham Coliseum panto promo for Aladdin.

Everyone’s favourite Richard J Fletcher is back in heels as Dame Widow Twankee and 2021 marks Richard’s 14th Christmas with the Coliseum! Shorelle Hepkin has been practising her thigh-slapping as she prepares to step into the role of Aladdin. Fresh from filming feature film Three Day Millionaire which will be released in cinemas next year, Sam Glen heads home to Oldham to play Wishee Washee. A previous member of Oldham Theatre Workshop and contestant on BBC’s Let It Shine with Gary Barlow, Sam made his Coliseum panto debut in 2019 in the titular role of Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk. The wicked villain Aunty Banazar will be played by Liz Carney, returning to the dark side after playing Fairy Nell in Dick Whittington in 2017.

Fresh faces to the Coliseum stage are Dora Rubinstein playing Princess Jasmine, whose stage credits include previous performances in pantomimes at York Theatre Royal (Peter Pan, Aladdin) and Cast in Doncaster (Cinderella); Marc Zayat as the Genie of the Lamp, who was nominated for Best Animal at the Great British Pantomime Awards in 2019 for his role in Watford Palace Theatre’s Jack and the Beanstalk; Alex Phelps as Spirit of the Ring/Pc Crompton (When Darkness Falls at Park Theatre, Twelfth Night and Hamlet at Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre); and Shaun Hennessy as The Emperor (Cinderella at Cast Doncaster, Richard III at Rotherham Underground).

For the first time this year the Coliseum also welcomes professional dancers to the production, including three former members of the Coliseum’s youth chorus returning to the stage that inspired their love of performing.

Oldham Coliseum Theatre’s nationally renowned pantomime is usually enjoyed by over 35,000 people each year. In 2020 whilst the theatre was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic the Coliseum presented a package of festive offers for all ages: Panto Digital Storytelling andPanto Storytelling Schools Tour telling the stories of Cinderella and Jack and the Beanstalkfrom Cinderella and Dame Dotty Trott’s own perspectives; a series of 24 Advent Plays free to watch on Social Media channels released each day in December, and Messages from the Dame in which Dame Dotty Trott recorded bespoke thank you messages to Oldhamers who had done great things during the pandemic. The Coliseum’s Festive digital offers were viewed over 30,000 times.

Now two years in the making, Aladdin will put the extra sparkle back into the festive season for audiences from across Oldham, Greater Manchester and the North West.

Oldham Coliseum Theatre’s nationally renowned pantomime has been delighting audiences for generations, with the perfect blend of tradition and pop culture bringing each unique production bang up to date. This long-established and much-loved pantomime is perfect for all the family.

Aladdin runs from Saturday 13 November 2021 – Saturday 8 January 2022. Tickets are on sale now.


Check out our reviews of the 2019 Oldham Coliseum Panto Jack and The Beanstalk and 2018 Cinderella.

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