Neil D'Arcy-Jones picks his Top Five events for the coming week.

• Aladdin, Mercury Theatre, Balkerne Gate, Colchester, until Sunday. Various times. 01206 573948.

OH yes it is the last weekend of the hugely popular Mercury pantomime. With the mammoth run coming to an end it’s a chance for the actors to let their hair down, a bit, so expect plenty of laughs, gags and maybe a mishap or two!

• John Constable’s Salisbury Cathedral, Christchurch Mansion, Soane Street, Ipswich, until January 31. Free. 01473 433554

A FINAL chance to see one of the greatest masterpieces of British art, John Constable’s 1831 painting Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows is on display at the Ipswich as part of a UK-wide tour of galleries and museums. At Christchurch Mansion’s Wolsey Art Gallery, the painting complements the museum’s collection of Constables and Gainsboroughs, the most significant collection of works by these masters outside of London.

• SlackFolk, Piatto Cafe, Priory Walk, Off Queen Street, Colchester, tomorrow, 2pm to 4.30pm. Free.

IT’S a packed programme for the first SlackFolk of the year. On the bill of the monthly music afternoon this weekend will be Bex and Freda, Carys, Two Jonnies singer/songwriter Colz Long, Martin Walker, Ian Perryman and organiser Dave Rado with more a capella community songs.

• Frankenstein the Panto, Headgate Theatre, Chapel Street North, Colchester, until Tomorrow, 7.30pm tonight and 1pm and 5pm tomorrow. £10.50, £8.50 concessions. 01206 366000.

KATS (Kids Acting and Theatre Skills) are back with their annual pantomime, for which they’re returning to a familiar favourite. Frankenstein the Panto by David Swan follows the adventures of Orphan Heidi, her best friend Frankie Stein and dog Kodak who come up against gormless Count Dracula and his gummy grandmother. Throw in Professor Crackpot who tries to transform Frankie into a superhero to fight the forces of evil plus a bunch of rowdy schoolgirls and their teacher Miss Nelly, and of course the mayhem is complete.

• James Dodds: Wood to Water, Firstsite Art Gallery, Lewis Gardens, Colchester, until February 14, 10am to 5pm. Free. 01206 577067.

ONE of the area’s most beloved artists, Wivenhoe’s James Dodds is now quite rightly an international painter of great renown. His ethereal ‘floating’ boats and his iconic past and present prints show not only his knowledge for this area’s shipping building past but his love of it as well.