Aladdin (Madeleine Leslay) is the battling hero hopelessly enamoured of the Princess (Millie Booth), and if a perceptive child might get slightly confused between the Princess and the lookalike Genie of the Ring (Booth plays both characters), it might be the right moment for enlightened parents to explain credit squeezes and suchlike things.

Ben Crocker’s script does not divert from the original story, which is as it should be. The rags-to-riches theme is neatly presented, the morality of the old tale is not allowed to blur and it’s all smiles at the glitzy walkdown.

The acting laurels go to Jeffrey Harmer as Abanazar. This is a performance that would not disgrace the National Theatre, since Harmer - in a splendid costume of what looks like real Damascus silk brocade - states his right to ownership of the magic lamp with the kind of theatrical resonance I have not heard since Alfred Marks gave us his Abanazar in Birmingham some years ago.

The chorus of Chinese villagers twinkles happily when twinkles are required. And Noel White’s Widow Twankey moves from the laundry to the palace, cranking up the (often unfunny) wisecracks with alacrity, undismayed by the agonising screeches from a faulty sound system

This year’s Welsh Wishee Washee (Geraint Rhys Evans) is perfect, singing and dancing with the irrepressible goodwill that the character demands and frequently doesn’t get, and the kids cheered.