Meet our Musical Creative Team for Aladdin

The magic of panto isn't just what you see on stage… it's what you hear, too! We're delighted to introduce two of the talented people helping bring our spectacular pantomime, Aladdin, to life this Christmas!

Matt Holman-Holmes – Musical Supervisor / Keyboard

Matt is no stranger to Westlands/The Octagon, having had the pleasure of working with a number of local theatre companies here including YAOS, Castaways, YAPS, YYT, Yeovil College, Motiv8 Productions and Kassmatt Productions. In addition, Matt was MD for the Octagon Theatre Summer School for eighteen years.

Further afield, Matt has also MD’ed for Bruce James Productions, Muses Theatrical Productions, CUDOS, Strode Opera, and Glastonbury and Street Musical Comedy Society. He is currently also MD for Wayfarers Pantomime Society, Taunton.

Future projects include Wayfarer’s production of “Aladdin” in Taunton in January 2027 and BAOS’s production of “Rock of Ages” at the McMillan in May 2027.

Matt is excited to be joining the Westlands team and cast of “Aladdin” for the festive season.

Dan Tomkinson – Musical Director / Arranger

Musical Director, Pianist, Composer and Orchestrator. Dan graduated with First Class Honours in Music from Canterbury Christ Church University, England in 2016. From 2016 to 2019, he was Musical Director at the Midlands Academy of Musical Theatre in Birmingham and has since worked extensively across the UK and Europe.
His orchestration work includes projects for the BBC, Disney Resorts, and Evolution Productions.

Theatre credits include: Pretty Woman The Musical (German Tour 25/26) Rocky Horror Show (EU Tour 2022/24–25), Elisabeth the Musical (EU & China Tour), Abenteuerland (Capitol Theater, Düsseldorf), Bhangra Nation (Birmingham Rep), Berlin Berlin (Admirals Palast, Berlin), The Bodyguard (EU Tour 2019–22), Moulin Rouge (Musical Dome, Cologne), Starlight Express (Bochum), Divas (The Other Palace Theatre, London), Mob Wife (Cockpit Theatre, London), The Greatest Show (UK Tour), West End on Tour(UK Tour), and The Last Five Years (Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury).

From the music that gets your toes tapping to the songs that have the whole audience singing along, Matt and Dan are helping create the magical soundtrack to this year's festive adventure!

With show-stopping numbers, plenty of panto magic and a whole lot of fun, Aladdin is set to be a Christmas treat for the whole family.