Join us as we connect, reflect, and celebrate… Discover Wintertime.

Panto cast reacting to the Golden Goose held by Guy Freeman as Billy producing a golden egg. On stage are Jill, Billy, the Dame, the Squire and Jack with Fairy Aubergine watching on in the background.

Synopsis

Act 1

Welcome to Kirkgate Market, the beating heart of Leeds – bright lights, busy stalls, and the sound of a live band filling the air. The story bursts into life with Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk, setting the scene for an adventure packed with fun, friendship, and a little bit of magic.

We meet Aladdin – or Alvin (you’ll find out!) – a cheerful dreamer with a big imagination and not much else. He works for his larger-than-life mother, Widow Tallulah Tightbottom (Widow T), who runs the Wash and Nosh Emporium, a café and combined laundry that’s as full of laughter as it is of bubbles.

Across the market, Princess Peachblossom has sneaked away from her father’s grand house at Harewood to explore life beyond the palace gates. When she bumps into Aladdin, it’s love at first sight, told through Pulp’s Common People. Their worlds couldn’t be more different, but they just can’t help falling for each other.

Watching from the shadows is the dastardly Abanazer, a sorcerer who’s been searching for a magic lamp buried somewhere beneath Leeds. He needs someone brave enough – or daft enough – to fetch it for him.

Back at the Wash and Nosh, Widow T introduces herself with Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance, Tommy the Tyke dashes through deliveries to Huey Lewis’s Workin’ for a Living, and Aladdin sneaks into Harewood House to find the Princess. Inside, she argues with her father, the Emperor, in Madonna’s Papa Don’t Preach, while Tommy sings The Turtles’ Happy Together and Widow T offers heartfelt advice in Whitney Houston’s How Will I Know.

But when Aladdin tries to impress the Princess by pretending to be a prince – helped by his playful monkey friend Muddles, who joins in with The Specials’ Monkey Man – things go terribly wrong, and the Emperor sends them all packing.

Tricked by Abanazer, Aladdin is sent deep underground to find the lost lamp. When he’s betrayed and left trapped in the dark, he rubs the lamp in frustration… and from a burst of light appears the incredible Genie of the Lamp, singing Billy Swan’s I Can Help.

With one final song – Get Ready by The Temptations – the Genie transforms Aladdin into a prince. As the curtain falls, our Leeds lad’s luck has changed, but his biggest adventure is still to come!

Interval

Lucy Ireland as Jill wearing a big red and green dress singing her heart out into a held microphone.

Lucy Ireland (Jill). Credit: Ant Robling

Excited-looking Harry F Brown as Jack climbing the panto beanstalk.

Harry F Brown (Jack). Credit: Ant Robling

Panto giant with a big giant's mask on pointing a fake wooden club towards the camera. Fake blood and bones appear to be stuck to his beard and have fallen down his chest. He is wearing red tights and a brown tunic.

Tim Robert (Giant). Credit: Ant Robling.

Kenny Davies as panto villain Fleshcreep looking sinister wearing a long green and black coat with a long satin green patterned waistcoat underneath.

Kenny Davies (Fleshcreep). Credit: Ant Robling

Act 2

When the curtain rises again, everything has changed. Aladdin is no longer a poor lad from the market; he’s the proud owner of Al’s Place, the most dazzling nightclub Leeds has ever seen. His house band launches into Land of 1000 Dances by Wilson Pickett, and the party is in full swing. Aladdin’s dreams have come true – he’s rich, admired, and soon to be married to Princess Peachblossom.

But miles away, trouble is brewing. The wicked Abanazer has survived his fall and returns, plotting revenge. Fired up and furious, he roars into Born to Be Wild by Steppenwolf, vowing to reclaim the lamp and use its power for himself.

Back in the market, Widow Tallulah Tightbottom refuses to let recent disasters dampen her spirits. She’s rediscovered her sparkle and a hint of magic, singing Abracadabra by Steve Miller Band before bouncing back with I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor.

Meanwhile, the Genie is enjoying her freedom and showing off her powers with Queen’s It’s a Kind of Magic. But her celebration is cut short when Abanazer sneaks in, steals the lamp, and forces her back under his control.

Defeated and alone, Aladdin finds himself back where he started. Meanwhile, Tommy the Tyke shares a heartfelt moment with the Princess through Smokey Robinson & The Miracles’ Tracks of My Tears. With help from Widow T and Muddles, they hatch a plan to defeat Abanazer and free the Genie once and for all.

At the crucial moment, the Genie breaks free from Abanazer’s grip in a triumphant burst of Beyoncé’s Freedom, turning his wicked spells back on him. The villain is defeated, Leeds is saved, and the streets light up once more.

With peace restored, the Emperor finally gives his blessing for Aladdin to marry Princess Peachblossom, who never stopped believing in him. The Genie leads the company and the audience in a celebration with Bill Withers’ Lean on Me, followed by a wedding full of smiles, dancing, and confetti.

The finale brings everyone together – heroes, friends, and the people of Leeds – in a big, feel-good medley of Natalie Cole’s This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) and Martha & The Vandellas’ Dancing in the Street. By the time the last chorus rings out, it’s one giant City Varieties celebration – a story of courage, friendship, and believing in magic, no matter where you’re from.