Aladdin at Hamilton Town House is a real Xmas cracker

It’s that time of year when families join together and head to the theatre to take in a traditional panto.

Hamilton Town House played host this year to Aladdin – and what a fab panto it turned out to be.

Kicking off its run at the end of November, the family show had the audience singing and dancing in their seats.

There were roars of laughter from the young and old who came to see the performance last Sunday evening.

The full cast were terrific but as always the panto’s dame, Widow Twankey, played by Uddingston’s Steve Russell, really struck the right chord with the crowd.

His witty one-liners and fantastic singing made sure all were part of the action.

Steve, who is currently teaching drama at the Glasgow Acting Academy and directing youth theatre productions, has been the panto’s dame for more than five years and his experience shone through in his performance.

But also giving another stand out performance was Wishy Washy, played by Dionne Frati.

She had the audience in fits of laughter and gave an all-round professional performance.

Wishaw-lad Scott Flemming landed himself the main role as Aladdin and never left the stage without a smile.

He gave the singing, acting and dancing his all.

The magical rollercoaster was packed full of brilliant up-to-date songs too.

The co-production employs the talents of professional actors working alongside students from New College Lanarkshire.

Now in its seventh year, it will also be staged at Rutherglen Town Hall.

Charlie Ingham, venues manager at Hamilton Town House, said:“our teams in both venues work closely with New College Lanarkshire all year round to make sure that our pantomime is a great experience for the audience, as well as a showcase for local talent.”

Steve performed alongside Wishaw’s Scott Fleming as Aladdin, Dionne Frati as Wishy Washy, Hannah Berry as Jasmine and Mellissa-jane Deans as Abi-nazar.

The Hamilton show finished its run on Sunday, December 8, and will now continue at Rutherglen Town Hall from Wednesday, December 11, to Monday, December 23.