FRESH off the back of its popular Cinderella pantomime, Weymouth Pavilion has secured the production of Aladdin for its 2014 and 2015 Christmas show.

Last year’s production of Cinderella which ran into early January saw a 25 per cent increase in ticket sales on each of the last 15 years.

Ron Martin Management has signed a contract with Pavilion operator Phil Say to continue the successful partnership.

In addition to the Christmas production, Ron Martin Management will also bring a number of shows to the Pavilion this summer.

Mr Martin, a former stand-up comedian, said: “It was my first year of producing here last year. It couldn’t have been any better. It was just an enormous success.

“I turned up as the new boy on the street. Although I have been in the industry for quite some time, it was always a bit worrying.”

Mr Martin had little reason to be concerned however, as his show later proved to be just as popular with adults as it was with children.

It was revealed to the Echo that twice as many adult tickets were sold than children’s tickets. The grand total of tickets sold amounted to 12,500.

Pavilion operator Phil Say said: “It was a whole new idea. For the last 15 years or so, the pantomime had been based around the fact of getting some star names or a soap star.

“The approach that Ron wanted to take, and we supported fully, was getting in quality actors who have performed in panto before but at a sensible price.”

This allowed the Pavilion to offer more affordable ticket prices .

Mr Say added: “The quality of it was what people wanted at the price people wanted.”

Word of the mouth between theatregoers, friends and family played a huge part in the success of Cinderella. Both Mr Say and Mr Martin hope the early confirmation of the latest agreement will allow more time to advertise and bring even more people to the end-of-year production.

Mr Say said: “The one thing that we couldn’t do was start early last year because we didn’t have the keys.”

He added: “It was very important for us to get it right and on the back of the success in 2013 and 2014 with Cinderella, it makes sense to keep the winning formula.”

Aladdin opens on Thursday 11 December and runs until Sunday 4 January. Tickets will be on sale shortly.