Well, it seems he could. Dan Styles, who plays the baddie in the Southsea pantomime, has had special training in stage fighting, both with weapons and in various styles of unarmed combat.

He does anything from bar-room brawls to kung fu, he says. All his shows now include fights if they fit in and he has planned or choreographed them himself.

'I'll be doing the fight-arranging for Aladdin and I'll be using a Samurai sword, so you never know - there might be a twist,' he smiles enigmatically.

Dan, 28, was at the Kings two years ago as the Huntsman in Snow White but says Abanazar is a big step up.

'I have previously played him in York with Michael Starke and I was really chuffed when I heard he was going to be here in Aladdin. He's such a funny man. I love him.

'He doesn't stop talking so rehearsals are a nightmare, but in a good way because we are laughing all the way through. He's the star and he's brilliant.'

Dan's CV contains a string of Shakespeare credits including Romeo, Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Macduff in Macbeth.

'But,' he says, 'I started doing musical theatre and panto because all the people I was working with were on that side of things.

'Then I got to the point where I wasn't being seen for straight theatre, so I made a choice to go for straight work because ultimately that's what I would like to do - including more Shakespeare, and film.

'I'm doing small independent films, the kind that do the festival circuit but probably don't get seen by the public unless they win awards. But they are innovative and creative and give me contacts and experience, and it's just a matter of time before you meet the right people.

'I also did quite a bit of producing of short films last year and started on a feature a friend has written. It's about HIV and we are working on the script and looking for funding.

*Aladdin, also starring Lisa Riley from Emmerdale and Fat Friends, will be at the Kings from December 9 to January 3.
*Tickets: (023) 9282 8282 or kings-southsea.com.
*Group bookings: (023) 9285 2208.