... BIRMINGHAM 'PUSS IN BOOTS' DEREK SALBERG'S presenta tion of Puss in Boots at the Alexandra, is not perturbed by the lack of a story. Its manner of production is so direct and unbroken that the tale seems ample to span its 16 scenes. George Lacy is at the top of his form as the Dame and gives a zest to the whole show. He- wears a multitude of outmodish gowns with an air of fantasy and lie ...

... COLCHESTER 'DICK WHITTINGTON' THE twenty-second Christmas choice of Colchester Repertory players is Ronald Parr's version of Dick Whittington, witty and topical, and graced by music from the Gilbert and Sullivan operas. The production is neat and scene; change smoothly. It is a mattei of luck that a Rep Player should have a singing voice, but one lady and two men prove fortunate in this ...

... EDINBURGH 'MOTHER GOOSE' THIS year's Howard and Wyndham pantomime presented by Stewart Cruikshank at the King's on December 5, is a lavishly staged, gorgeously costumed production. Under Freddie Carpenter's imaginative direction the dazzling show has something to suit all tastes Pantomime tradition is not forgotten, with a harlequinade at the beginning and many vividly colourful scenes to ...

... GLASGOW 'SINBAD THE SAILOR' A SECOND look at this lavish new Howard and Wyndham pantomime, at the Alhambra, produced by Freddie Carpenter, proves that first-night mishaps and slowness have been ironed out. While the comedy remains mainly local in its appeal, the spectacle and stage mechanics reach a high and intri cate level, the costumes and colour ings are breath-taking, and the entire ...

... GLOUCESTER 'DICK WHITTINGTON' APPROPRIATELY enough, at Gloucester, on the eve of what is believed to be the 600th anniversary year of the birth of Sir Richard Whittington, this year's pantomime choice is Dick Whittington. The original Dick was born at Pauntley Court nine miles away. A new approach makes the show the maturest since the Christmas pantomime tradition was revived with the ...

... GUILDFORD 'ALADDIN' rPHE ethics of adapting a dead composer's work once the copy right has expired may be open to question but Ronald Parr's version of Aladdin which uses Sir Arthur Sullivan's music, is a pleasant concoction and is proving a popular choice for Guildford Theatre's Christmas production. At times it is irritating to hear new lyrics to familiar tunes from, say, The Mikado or ...

... HANLEY 'GOODY TWO-SHOES' A SCENERY or costume designer or even a stage-effects man would be delighted with Emile Littler'i Goody Two-Shoes at the Royal, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. It is presumed, however, that the children, for whom the pantomime is normally written, look to the comedians for their entertainment. In this case, they are disappointed. Reg Dixon as Lord Gorgeous of Glamour and Tommy ...

... HARROGATE 'ARABIAN NIGHTS' THE New White Rose Players entered wholeheartedly into the spirit of the Christmas play, Arabian Nights, by Bridget Boland and gave a delightful presentation which showed their versatility. The play, a charming mixture of fantasy and oriental colour, tells briefly the stories of A kiddie, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, and Haroun al Raschid through the mouth of ...

... HUDDERSFIELD 'ALADDIN' ALADDIN at the Royal has several points of merit. One is that it follows the traditional story so well as to be excellent entertainment for children, and that the usual embroideries have great attraction for the more sophisticated. Nita Valerie, who has written the script and directed the production, is also seen in her presentation of that terrible child, Awful ...

... 'DICK WHITTINGTON' DICK WHITTINGTON at the Hippodrome, Manchester, has everything that a good pantomime needs--gaiety, sparkle, comedy and music. What is more, all these are built on to the framework of a well-knit story with a dialogue and special music which really link the whole thing together and make it into something more than a series of variety turns. In the hands of a cast of ...

... NEWPORT 'MOTHER GOOSE' THE Frank Maddox production of Mother Goose at the Lyceum, Newport, Mon., can bt called truthfully the show of the three Cs--Colour, Costumes and Chimpanzees. So striking is the use of colour in scenery and dresses that when, in contrast, the curtain goes up on a dazzling silver and white setting of Eskimoland it brings a round of applause. In fact, the thing that ...

... OXFORD 'CINDERELLA' JACK HYLTON'S and Emile Littler's Cinderella is one of the finest pantomimes ever seen at the New, true to the book the plot is never lost sight of in a welter of side issues, as is too frequently the case. Free of innuendoes, the humour is constant and the stick comedy hilarious. The whole show is for once a whole heartedly children's show Pretty ddcor and dresses to ...