PANTO season is usually in December but one amateur dramatics group in rural north Cumbria is treading the boards next week with its production of Aladdin.

Caldbeck Players broke with tradition and decided to perform their pantomime after Christmas.

Aladdin is a folk tale of Middle Eastern origin. Since it first appeared in the early 18th century Aladdin and the Magic Lamp has been one of the best known and most retold of all fairy tales.

Producer Antoinette Ward said: “The cast of 28 is aged from seven to 70 and a number of them are veterans of the Caldbeck stage.

“In addition, there are children and adults treading the boards for the first time and we hope they will make this the first of many appearances.”

Antoinette, 71, said the idea to stage Aladdin came from one of the teenagers.

She said: “At our annual general meeting we decided to do an all-ages show. We’ve done shows such as Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz before but it’s been a while since we’d performed a pantomime.

“We decided to do it after Christmas as I was away in the autumn and we didn’t think there would be enough time.”

Rehearsals started after half term and continued until Christmas.

The cast then had a two -eek break and resumed rehearsals earlier this month.

The pantomime has been written by Tim Cartmell, who plays the role of the magician Abanazar, with help from David Ward and others.

Antoinette, who used to act when she was younger, said: “It features all the things you would expect from a pantomime. There’s songs and dances and pantomime chaos.

“The costumes are really good too. There were six on the costume team.

“Widow Twankey (Aladdin’s mother) is played by a dentist called Robert Kenning and he’s made his own costume. It’s great. He really has a talent for sewing.”

Caldbeck Players has been running since the 1950s. And Antoinette has been a member since 1976.

She said: “I’ve been involved in a lot of productions. I think the farces have been my favourite. I loved the Ray Cooney farces. We had a lot of fun doing those.

“And I’ve also really enjoyed the all-age shows like the musicals and, in particular, producing Alice in Wonderland. I really loved that.”

Aladdin is played by Lauren Woodham and Rory Woodham plays the part of Wishie Washie.

Caldbeck Players is performing the show on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night in the parish hall at 7.30pm.

Tickets are £6 for adults, £5 for pensioners and £3 for school age children.

They are available from the post offices in Caldbeck and Hesket Newmarket or by calling Antoinette and David Ward on 016974 78220.

The next Caldbeck Players performance will be in March when they perform a play called Entertaining Angels, a comedy by Richard Everett.

Plans are also being made for other performances this year.

n The Sands Centre has announced that its Christmas pantomime this year will be Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. It will be performed from Thursday, December 12 until Tuesday, December 31. Bookings can be made online or at the leisure centre.