Having been billed as the ‘Best In London’, Susie McKenna’s Aladdin had a great deal to live up to. Did it deliver?

Well, think of your mum’s Christmas dinner, times it by ten and then you will be somewhere close to the pantopia that I experienced at the Hackney Empire.

What makes McKenna’s oriental themed Aladdin stand out from the crowd is its fantastic cast, stunning sets, dazzling music, satirical genius and audience interaction.

By the end of the show I was chomping at the bit to be involved, and the audience literally jumped out of their seats when invited to join in with the panda rhyme, not just once, but three times!

Who needs B-list celebrities (sorry Pammy) when you have the greatest Dame known to man, Olivier award nominee Clive Rowe as Widow Twankey? Rowe delivered family fun, tasteful innuendo and interacted superbly with Abanazer (David Ashley), Aladdin (Anna Jane Casey) and in particular Tameka Empson who ‘bottled’ the spirit of Ha-Ka-Ney as the Empress of China.

While the backdrops impressed throughout, I particularly enjoyed both the amazing dragon and the laundry scene which sees the ‘chung’ (teen-speak for attractive) Wishee Washee (played by the Matt Dempsey) swirling around helplessly in a dryer. The chorus of dancing pandas perfectly summed up the warm-fuzzy feeling of delight and pandemonium (sorry, couldn’t help it) delivered throughout.

If the Empire’s lights do go out in the new year, then there could be no more suitable finale.

Aladdin runs at the Hackney Empire, Mare Street, until January 9. Tickets: 020 8985 2424 or www.hackneyempire.co.uk (£9 - £22.50).

Daniel Cook