Sinbad the Sailor
★★★★☆ Inviting
Church Hill Theatre: Fri 12 – Sun 21 Dec 2025
Review by Hugh Simpson
Edinburgh People’s Theatre’s annual pantomime is always one of the most keenly-awaited festive shows, and Sinbad the Sailor lives up to the anticipation.
Sinbad is not exactly the best-known pantomime, and this off-the-shelf script by Alan P Frayn shares definite similarities with the plot of Dick Whittington, for example. The storyline revolves around the search for a Pearl of Peace that Sinbad has been falsely accused of stealing, but is even less crucial than in most pantos.
Carol Bryce, Lynsey Spence and Gemma Dutton. Pic: Graham Bell.
The setting and characters can appear a little problematic at times to modern audiences, with the depiction of ‘Constantinople’ and ‘Cairo’ sailing dangerously close to Orientalism on occasion and seeming decidedly unnecessary in 2025.
The problems with bought-in scripts do also surface, with an overload of characters and a story that takes an age to get going, with the first half in particular being too long.
Thankfully, any such worries are eclipsed by all of the expected traditional features of pantomime, with all of the audience participation, familiar routines and cheesy jokes you could want, as well as an underwater UV scene.
excellent sense of pace
Any slight slackness of pace in the first half can be excused by that unwieldy script and the fact that this was the first night. Certainly by the second act this had built up a real head of steam.
Director Derek Ward has an excellent sense of pace, and uses the auditorium inventively. This – together with Mandy Black’s impressive choreography – means that the ensemble have endless supplies of fun and energy.
Al Brown, Carol Bryce, John Webster, Mandy Black and Gemma Dutton. Pic: Graham Bell.
The EPT panto is still the place to go if you want an old-fashioned Principal Boy, and Carol Bryce’s thigh-slapping Sinbad is exactly that, played with real warmth. If that characterisation is resolutely traditional, having a female Dame is much more of a modern development, and Mandy Black is extremely funny as Norma Snickers.
The comic elements are shared out between a large number of characters, but they are all played with charm and gusto. Al Brown’s Tinbad is beautifully pitched and very fine indeed, while Gemma Dutton’s Silly Sally has a pleasingly mischievous air. James Sutherland and Ellen McFadzen are utterly committed to the stupidity of the debt collectors Snaffle and Trace.
pitches the villainy just right
One pleasing evolution in recent pantomimes is the trend towards giving the female romantic lead at least slightly more agency and drive, and Lynsey Spence gives Princess Miranda drive and believability.
Anne Mackenzie’s good fairy Fortuna is glittery and reassuring, while Suzanne Senior, as her evil counterpart Evilena (of course) pitches the villainy just right. One of the peculiarities of this script is that the baddie character has been oddly divided, with Evilena practically disappearing from the second half to be replaced by the Demon of the Sea. This is played with conspicuous relish by Kevin Eadie, who benefits from a costume that (like all of the others on display) is extremely effective.
John Webster, Aileen Copland, Elizabeth Douglas, Mike Keenan, Jessica Howie, Abby Hughes, Kelly Edie and Carol Bryce. Pic: Graham Bell.
The other performers – Allan Carty as Prince Said, Aileen Copland as the Sultana, John Webster as the Wazir and the various smaller roles played by members of the company – are all done with commitment and grace.
The musical accompaniment by MD Tom Klafkowski and percussionist Duncan Clark is unflagging and consistently tuneful. The songs are varied, well chosen and of ideal length.
reliable Christmas entertainment
Al Brown’s sets are striking, while Rob Fuller’s lighting and Olaf Van Dijke’s sound are just right. The script’s opportunities for inserting local references are cleverly taken, including more than one friendly dig at the Festival Theatre panto.
In a production of real care and warmth, any slowness in the initial stages will surely disappear as the run goes on. The EPT panto remains probably Edinburgh’s most reliable Christmas entertainment, with its inclusive and friendly approach.
While not being utterly beholden to the traditions of pantomime, it is more conscious of them than most productions, and is all the more pleasing as a result.
Running time: Two hours and 35 minutes (including one interval)
Church Hill Theatre, 40 Morningside Road, EH10 4DR
Friday 12 – Sunday 21 December 2025
Weekdays (not Mon 15) at 7pm; Sat and Sun at 2.30pm
Tickets and details: Book here.
The cast and chorus of EPT’s Sinbad the Sailor . Pic: Graham Bell
ENDS
