Theatre bosses ended the year on a high, with more people than ever enjoying its production of Aladdin.

Group bookings rose by 21 per cent, with more people taking advantage of discounts that came with booking 10 or more.

And there was a six per cent rise in the number of people who booked their tickets online, with more than 600 people printing off their own ticket at home using the theatre's new Ticket Fast system.

More than 100 schools from across the region came to see Starsky and Hutch star Paul Michael Glaser, The Three Degrees singer Sheila Ferguson and teen heartthrob Anthony Kavanagh in action.

For nine of those schools, this was their first trip to see a panto.

It was also reported people came from as far afield as London, Leeds, Carlisle, Nottingham, Glasgow, Great Yarmouth, Birmingham, Blackpool and Belfast, with one group travelling from Florida.

A Sunderland Empire spokeswoman said: "We're delighted to have ended the year with another spectacular production from First Family Entertainment.

"Once again we hosted the North East's most star-studded pantomime and we are looking forward to doing the same again for Christmas 2009."
This year's panto will be Peter Pan and the Empire has already sold a staggering 12,000 tickets.

* Tickets for Peter Pan are on sale now and if you buy them before February 27 you can bag them at the 2008 Aladdin prices.

Second big Aladdin hit

Durham's Gala theatre's first in-house panto has brought in more cash than ever before, making Aladdin a second big Wearside hit.

The theatre's festive installment, starring local actors Donald McBride and Neil Armstrong, sold more than 22,000 tickets and proved a hit with both audiences and reviewers.

Simon Stallworthy, Gala director, said: "It has been fantastic to welcome so many visitors during the festive period and I'm delighted that it has proved so popular with our local community.

"Producing pantomime in-house is something I have wanted to do since arriving in Durham and I'm so pleased that it was a success for all involved."

And next year's panto, Dick Whittington, already looks set to be a best-seller with almost 1,000 tickets sold or reserved to see the show, which runs from Tuesday, December 1 to Saturday, January 2. All tickets booked before March 31 will be available at 2008 prices.