For 1,001 nights, Scheherazade kept her head by beguiling the sultan with fantastical tales. And on the 1,002nd evening, Alan Ayckbourn took over - or so it might seem from this fabulous concoction of viziers, princesses and 8ft-tall robotic emissaries, which could almost come straight from the pages of the Arabian Nights.
Well, maybe not the gigantic robots. But Ayckbourn knows just how to tickle the fancy of a young audience, and after a slightly flaccid opening (a bit heavy on the yucky declarations of love and stuff), the clanking entrance of the mechanical marvel had the tots squealing with delight.
After that, it's simple enchantment all the way as the sultan's sons embark on a series of tasks to determine who will win the hand of Princess Nouronnihar - a quest which, given that the princess is so singularly appalling, all three of the brothers are anxious to fail. It's a neat reversal of the usual order of things, and gives rise to a classic Ayckbourn rumination when Ali, the middle brother, finds himself betrothed by default: "It's difficult to feel affection for your wife when you won her in a competition. And I came second," he complains.
There's some engaging acting from Neil Grainger's puny Ahmed, Justin Brett's hapless Ali and Sarah Moyle's neurotic Nouronnihar. Ayckbourn doesn't disappoint with the technical wizardry, either: he keeps the trapdoor operators especially busy, and orchestrates a magic carpet scene that really does get off the ground. Forget the innumerable productions of Aladdin this Christmas and head to Scarborough for an entertainment genuinely full of eastern promise.
· Until January 7. Box office: 01723 370541.
