Pick of the pantos

John Ramm stars as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at the Rose in Kingston. 'Dickens' Victorian story of the moneylender ... who is so mean that he is prepared to evict those who have fallen into arrears on Christmas Day, is indeed a tale for our times,' says Lyn Gardner. The Rose's production looks 'as pretty as a Christmas card' but its carols start to 'sound like dirges' Photograph: Tristram Kenton

Michael Billington found 'no Buttons, no gooey pop songs [and] no mice transformed into white ponies' in Cinderella at the Lyric Hammersmith. 'It is a seasonal show that utilises the kaleidoscopic delights of theatre,' declared Billington Photograph: Tristram Kenton

At Nottingham Playhouse, Aladdin stars Kenneth Alan Taylor (above left), who is 'celebrating a quarter century of frocks and frolics', writes Alfred Hickling. 'It doesn't take a genie to work out that you ought to catch him while you can' Photograph: PR

Ahoy! It's Keith Allen as Long John Silver in Treasure Island at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Michael Billington thought the show was awash with 'sea-shanties, swinging from the rigging and an orgy of overacting' but was 'puzzled as to who this production is aimed at' Photograph: Tristram Kenton

Glasgow's Tron has a long tradition in weird and wonderful pantos. This year's offering, Mother Bruce, replaces the conventional goose with an Australian spider and emerges as 'a jewel in the tarnished pantosphere', according to Mark Fisher Photograph: Douglas Robertson

At Hackney Empire, Mother Goose is a refreshing antidote to those pantos that are the last resort of 'jumped-up fugitives from the soaps'. Michael Billington enjoyed 'the right blend of story, spectacle and slapstick' Photograph: Tristram Kenton