The classic story of fearless hero Aladdin and the extraordinary genie who appears from a magical lamp is coming to Gants Hill.

The Dragon Theatre company will be performing Aladdin at St George’s Hall, Woodford Avenue this weekend.

Shaz Lock has been with the group for eight years and is excited to be taking on the lead role.

She told the Recorder: “I am very excited and hopeful that the performance will be well received by the audience.

“We’ve rejuvenated the story of Aladdin, with more current songs and current jokes, with a lot of references to The Only Way is Essex.”

The Dragon Theatre Company have regular audiences from the local Rainbows and Brownies groups, and a group of children with disabilities.

Shaz added: “We engage a lot with the community through our membership. We have members that range from age 14 right through to 87. Some of our members have children who enjoy our performances or who have grown up to take part in the productions.

“We also have a Friends of Friends programme where we circulate our upcoming productions with friends of the group. They receive newsletters and get a bit more exclusivity from us.”

Instead of ending the performance with a bow and round of applause on stage, the actors at the Dragon Theatre Company like to do things a bit differently.

“We get into the auditorium with the audience at the end of our performance to thank them for coming. We have a chat with them to find out what they thought of the performance and wave them goodbye. It’s great for the cast members and keeps the engagement going,” said Shaz.

Shaz said: “I have definitely grown in confidence and cemented friendships in the group.

“With amateur dramatics groups, you’re not necessarily always given a lead role, and you have to kind of work your way up.”

The performances take place on Friday, January 19 at 7.30pm and Saturday, January 20 at 2.30pm and 7.30pm and the same timeson Friday, January 26 and Saturday, January 27.

Tickets are £7 and £5. To book, call the box office on 07960 676180.