The Derngate is a great big barn of an auditorium, and it needs a great big, brash, bright, and noisy panto to fill it. This year’s Aladdin certainly fits the bill.

“Hi, Wishee Washee,” cries the audience as star Bobby Davro comes on. No audience in the country beats Northampton when it comes to shouting out greetings, or prompt answers to questions — it’s one of the delights of attending a panto here.

Mr Davro, a well established panto operator, reels off hoary old jokes with aplomb: “I’m an expert in judo: I’ve got a black belt. Before that, my trousers fell down.” He’s good at traditional panto routines too: the Twelve Days of Christmas scene, featuring more and more miscellaneous objects being grabbed from the wings, goes particularly well — and the audience member high up in one of the Derngate boxes, who actually managed a clean catch when a bunch of toilet rolls was flung up at him, should surely be visited by the England cricket selectors.

There’s plenty of panto experience in support too. Basil Brush gets some more modern jokes: “Owing to the recession, the undertaking business is a dead loss”. And Jeffrey Holland (still fondly remembered by oldies as Spike the apprentice comic in TV’s Hi-de-Hi!) provides a stately Widow Twankey, who gets her own line in gags: “Come on, give us a smile, show us your teeth. No dear, I didn’t say hand your teeth round!”

Among the newcomers, American Brian Fortuna (a former professional on Strictly Come Dancing), playing Aladdin, takes to panto like a duck to water, as does David O’Mahony, who revels in the role of principal baddie Abanazar.

The whole show is extremely slick, and the action cracks along at a good pace. Avoid an evening performance if you don’t like slightly blue jokes, but this is a panto that’s very much alive and kicking.

Until January 8. Tickets: www.royalandderngate.co.uk or 01604 624811.