From showing times to ticket prices, here is all you need to know about Ipswich Regents' pantomime production of Aladdin.

When is the panto on?

Aladdin will be running from Friday, December 17 to Sunday, January 2, missing Christmas and New Years Day.

Performance times vary across the run.

These include 10.30am and 6pm start on opening night, a midday matinee and 5pm evening showing from December 18-23 and 10:30am and 3pm on Christmas Eve.

After Christmas, the panto returns with a 1pm matinee on December 26, 27 and 28, a 5pm showing on December 29, a 12pm showing on December 30, and 1pm showing on December 31.

The panto concludes with a 12pm and 7:30pm showing on January 2.

An additional performance at 5pm on December 30 will have a sign language interpreter.

Who is it starring?

X-factor runner up Marcus Collins is at the top of the bill as the genie of the lamp. The performer's stage experience includes roles in the UK tour of Hairspray and in the 50th anniversary of the musical Hair.

Joining him, back by popular demand, is pantomime legend, Mike "Squeaky" Mcclean, known for his appearances as a roving reporter on Richard and Judy and for appearing on the Big Breakfast.

What is the plays history?

Aladdin is one of the best known stories in the historic Arabian compilation "1001 Nights", which dates from almost a thousand years ago, but it didn't actually appear in the text until it was translated into French by Antoine Galland in 1710.

According to his unpublished diary, he had picked the story up from a Syrian storyteller who was in Paris, named Hanna Diyab, who some claim is the true original author.

The story was first made into a pantomime in 1788, by the Irish playwright John O'Keefe who introduced the iconic character of Widow Twankey.

How much does it cost?

Tickets are selling fast, but most nights still have a few seats available, provided you don't need a huge block of them.

They currently range in price from £14 for the cheapest seats to £29 for the most expensive, while a box for four costs £116.