The pantomimes at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East have long held a reputation as being amongst the best in town. This year's plunge into the exotic Arabian Nights tale of Aladdin more than confirms their reputation. Pantomimes are a tricky form of theatre to get right  - the smallest of children need to be kept amused and enchanted for two and a half hours but their parents and guardians need to be engaged also. This is precisely the trick that the Theatre Royal's Aladdin pulls off with what appears to be effortless ease.

Many of the traditional elements of British pantomime are present and correct here. There's a dame played by a man in drag, a villain to hiss and boo, double entendres which will (the adults hope!) go above the kiddies' heads, a sing-a-long, sweeties thrown to the crowd and moments of wonder and awe. The principal boy is on this occasion played by a young man but when the performer in question has the charm, energy and talent of Darren Kuppan as Aladdin, nobody will be complaining.

The Theatre Royal has gathered together an enormously talented and diverse cast. Brilliant young performers like Kappan plus Chloe Allen and Alton Leto - as the jolly double act of jive-talking skivvies Wishy and Washy - light up the stage with their skill and exuberance. Derek Elroy - as the buxom Jamaican dame Ma Twanky - is a comedian of rare talent who has both children and adults roaring with laughter, skipping between comic scolding and risqué back-chat in his show-stealing routines. Old Stratford East hands Michael Bertenshaw - an eminently boo-able Abanazar - and Toni Palmer - a true cockney Genii of the Ring - bring the kind of practised vaudevillian skill to their roles clearly honed by a lifetime at home on a stage. Best of all, the wild and wonderful Peter Straker struts his stuff as a rockin', shocking, falsetto-tooting Genii of the Lamp who can only have been created by some strange alchemist blending of Elvis Presley, James Brown and her majesty Grace Jones.

Writer Trish Cooke has poured the traditional pantomime elements into a fine retelling of the Arabian Nights story which truly puts the protagonist through a life-changing, character-testing experience. This Aladdin sells out his  family and friends for riches and learns that it isn't being a royal prince which wins the heart of a Princess. All of these potentially heavy-handed messages are delivered with a beautifully finessed lightness of touch. Robert Hymen's storming original songs traverse the history of popular music, from show tunes to rap, calypso to punk, keeping the energy buzzing on a high throughout.

Aladdin delivers more than its fair share of heart-warming fun. What's more, there are moments of true theatrical magic (the enormous talking Sphinx and the carpet ride in the skies) which will surely stay with its young audience members forever. The four year old who accompanied me was spellbound throughout the show; when I asked him if he'd enjoyed it he burst forth with an enormous, emphatic "Yes!"

Aladdin

28 November 2009 – 16 January 2010

Theatre Royal Stratford East,

Gerry Raffles Square,

Stratford,

London E15 1BN

Box Office - 020 8534 0310

http://www.stratfordeast.com/