Review: Aladdie, Ayr Gaiety Theatre panto | A lovely local panto with moments of genius
- Lisa in the theatre
- Dec 2, 2025
- 4 min read
With a Scottish spin on the traditional Aladdin story, Fraser Boyle and the team at Ayr's Gaiety Theatre have created two new Ayrshire pantomime heroes in Aladdie and Alassie. Read my review of the 2025 Ayr panto below.
Aladdie: Ayr Gaiety panto ★★★☆☆
Review: 29 November 2025 | Ayr Gaiety Theatre
Fraser Boyle's writing is brilliant. He wisely side-steps any issues with the traditional Aladdin pantomime story and Orientalism by placing his panto Aladdie firmly in the very Far East of... Ayrshire. Clever!
In Ancient Old New Cumnock we meet poor Widow Twankey (Fraser Boyle) and her children Aladdie (Lewis Kerr) and Alassie (Ciara Flynn) who run a laundry that cleans, among others, the Royal Family's smalls. Aladdie is in love with the beautiful Princess Destiny (Mia Musakambava) whose snobby mother Empress Onagh (Hannah Howie) rules the land, and would never allow such a match for her daughter.
Meanwhile the evil Abanazar (Gavin Jon Wright as you've never seen him before!) needs to find "a laddie" from Ayrshire to open a mysterious cave in the Cumnock hills and retrieve an old lamp that will help him become the greatest magician the world has ever known.
Gavin Jon Wright - one of Scotland's finest stage actors - playing a villain in pantomime? I did not expect that! But he takes the role of the devious wizard Abanazar and makes it his is own. With running jokes about his name and the inept stage crew's failure to deliver his props correctly, as well as a peculiar fascination with scabby wee pigeons, he makes for a brilliant bumbling baddie, winding-up and amusing the children more than terrorising them.
And that's where Boyle and director Tom Cooper's panto excels: with vivid, refreshed characters, daft jokes and plenty of fun with Scottish references for the Ayrshire crowd to revel in.
Aladdie runs long, coming down 30 minutes later than advertised, and it does have a dialogue-heavy script, with the first half of act one in particular focused on the storytelling. But once the plot is established and all the characters introduced, we move into more familiar panto fare and are treated to exquisite silly sketches and upbeat song and dance routines.
As well as writing the show, the multi-talented Fraser Boyle plays the outrageous panto dame, Widow Twankey. Boyle is one of the best dames in the pantosphere, and indeed Aladdie seems to come alive when he finally graces the stage.
Also outstanding in the cast are the aforementioned Wright whose song 'Poisoning Pigeons in the Park' is a delight; and his pigeon dance duet with Boyle to 'Popcorn' is a work of comic genius (yes, this is a deliriously pigeon heavy show!)
Hannah Howie as Empress Oonagh not only showcases her world-class singing voice but her fine comedic talent. Howie and Mia Muskambeva have the best ballad in the show; their stunning duet of 'Tell Him' brought the house down.
Lewis Kerr's Aladdie is a revelation. So earnest and sprightly, he confidently embraces the lead role here. Well done to the creative team who have recognised his potential and put him front and centre this year.
Star of the show is Ciara Flynn's Alassie. What a legend! Flynn's stage presence and exaggerated facial expressions make her an easy favourite with the crowd. Her performance is so full of charisma and vitality, she definitely makes a case for the show being renamed 'Alassie.'
To help build atmosphere, the music could've been a little louder at times, and some of the scene transitions were a little shaky, but that all adds to the unique charm of local pantomime.
The Ayr Gaiety panto is a traditional family-friendly Christmas treat with a strong community focus, and it's a long-standing custom to feature groups of young dancers from local dance schools. I was delighted to see this element has been upheld this year. They were all excellent (and adorable!)
The Gaiety also always go above and beyond to make their pantomimes accessible too; and the good-humoured BSL interpreters on stage for this show do well to integrate into the company and the chaos. I can't imagine how difficult it is to sign a pantomime, let alone one full of Ayrshire references.
There is so much to love about the Gaiety's Aladdie. It's bursting with unique ideas and genuinely brilliant scenes. There is a beautifully realised bell-ringing scene that shows off the cast's musicality, and the highlight of the evening is a pre-recorded film adventure that sees the cast set off, on the local bus to Maybole in search of Abanazar's secret lair. It's so well conceived, directed and edited that it may just be the best thing I've seen in panto this year. Genuis!
Aladdie plays at The Gaiety Theatre, Ayr until Sunday 4th January 2026.
MORE: the best pantos to see in Glasgow and the surrounding areas this Christmas https://www.lisainthetheatre.com/post/glasgow-christmas-panto-2025
MORE: Find more Scottish panto news and reviews at: https://www.lisainthetheatre.com/panto
Aladdie tickets:
Sat 29th November 2025 – Sun 4th January 2026
Ticket Office: The Gaiety, Carrick Street, Ayr
Tickets from £12.00 - £35.00
All tickets available online, in person, or over the phone: 01292 288235
Online: www.thegaiety.co.uk
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