"May it please the court?" - "By jove it does" The Emperor presides over Aladdin's trial. CLICK HERE to see large version of this photo

A couple of days before the public performances the "company" put on a special showing for the pupils at the school. Needless to say they thoroughly enjoyed it especially the booing and hissing when Abanazer appeared. And of course great fun to see their headmaster dressed as Widow Twankey. But for me the most enchanting moment came right at the very end of the show, when suddenly disco music blared forth and these fairy-tale characters broke through the mysterious invisible wall between stage and audience, came down into the auditorium and each character took a youngster up onto the stage to dance with them. Children found themselves dancing with the genie, the prince, the princess and all those other characters who they had followed and cheered on so avidly whilst watching the Aladdin story. Yes for me and the rest of the backstage crew that was the real magic of Pantomime