... HANLEY 'ALADDIN' THE successful combination of Nat Jackley as Widow Twankey and diminutive Jimmy Clitheroe as Wishee Washee is now in its sixth successive season, and its perfected fun is helping to draw the crowds to Emile Littler's Aladdin at the Royal. How convincing is Jimmy as the naive, provocative and pigtailed little boy who gives the game away in the spoof magic scenc or curls up ...

... DUNDEE 'LITTLE BO-PEEP' THERE are real live sheep in Tommy Morgan's Little Bo-Peep. which ran for a week at the Palace from December 12 before moving to Aberdeen. They belong to Joe Gandy, and really they're most well-behaved sheep, trotting on and nuzzling contentedly at Little Boy Blue as she helps Bo-Peep to mind them. Tommy Morgan, popular as ever in Dundee, packed the house all week ...

... COVENTRY 'MOTHER GOOSE' THIS year ii is Mother Goose. a S H. Newsome presentation, that will he p aying at the Coventry Theatre for a season extending well into the New Year. As usual here, the story is the thing. Deftly woven into the moral la'e of Mother Goose and her dangerous vanity are the talents of a east which includes George Lacy, Eve Boswell, Sally Barnes and young Welsh comedian. ...

... CANTERBURY 'MOTHER GOOSE' MOTHER GOOSE, at thc Marlowe, was enthusiastically received by the Boxing Day audiences. Its success is to some extent due to the fact that no attempt is made to go beyond the limitations of the theatre. Emphasis is placed on the story out loo many distractions, and pro ducer Pat Sandys has, as a result, provided a show which appeals to both young and old. The ...

... EXMOUTH 'PUSS IN BOOTS' WITH a deft hand producer Joyce Worsley created success with thc West of England Theatre Company's Christmas presentation of Nicholas Stuart Gray's Puss in Boots, at the Sayoy. Norman Rose excelled in the title role and showed agile versatility. As Gerard, Barry Wilsher gave understanding to thc part. To gether their performance left little to be desired. Another ...

... STOCKTON-ON-TEES 'ROBINSON CRUSOE' WITH Ken Platt heading the comedians, shapely Joy Marlowe playing Robinson Crusoe, and Morton Fraser's Harmonica Rascals providing lively interludes, Robinson Crusoe was assured of a successful three-week run when it opened at the Globe on Boxing Day. Thc production, by Charles King, presented by Lew and Leslie Grade, in association with Will Collins, is ...

... BATH 'JACK AND JILL' THERE is no better-mounted pantomime in the provinces than a Maddox pantomime, and this year there is some breath-taking colour in Frank Maddox's production, at the Royal, of Jack and Jill, which owes a great deal to the design of Mrs. Nellie Maddox. It is all delightfully fresh, and this is reflected in the playing of the large cast. It is good, too, to see the ...

... BLACKBURN 'CINDERELLA' THERE is a curious mix of ancient and modern about Frank H. Fortescue's Cinderella.'' which opened for a three-week season at the Grand on December 23. The book adheres closely to the traditional pattern and the principals have their own ideas for freshening the theme. All but i he principal boy. Jean Campbell. Mine, Turner's Girls, and ihe speciality Profe sor ...

... BRIGHTON 'CINDERELLA' CINDERELLA, at the Hippo drome, has all the traditional trappings, powdered wigs, pure white ponies and a sparkling coach lo lake Cinders to the ball. It has, too, something else, Derek Roy as Buttons. There are times when this googly-eyed comic submerges self in ihe somewhat pathetic part >f Buttons, but for the most part lie is himself; thc polished and ex ...

... ST. ANDREWS 'BEAUTY AND THE BEAST' THIS fairy play by Nicholas Stuart Gray was given at the Byre Theatre. The author has approached the old fairy story from an original angle and has made it admirable Christmas entertainment, full of magic for children and humour for the adults. The part of Beauty provided an j admirable vehicle for the polished j acting of Una McLean. The Beast was equally ...

... BELFAST 'ALADDIN' IN the role of Mrs. Twankey Clarkson Rose gives a characterisation for which he is renowned in Derek Salberg's production of Aladdin at the Grand Opera House. From the opening scene to the finale the audience is under his command. He is at his finest in a I caricature of the principal boy of the nineties, and altogether his stage manner is mosi amusing. 1 lie Three ...

... BOURNEMOUTH 'ROBINSON CRUSOE' ROBINSON CRUSOE ON ICE is the best pantomime yet staged at the Westover. A solid, charming, colourful and happy production, it has the added attraction of being great fun, too. I he scenery and costumes, dc. signed by Erik, and painted by John Lewis, are the most lavish the rink have produced. In addition, ultra-violet effects have been skil fully used to ...