Panto was a beauty - and so was bad fairy Mike!

The original pantomime had been slightly rewritten. A little risquè, but in the main using innuendo rather than blatant swearing.

The scenery used was colourful, with suitable lighting, sound and music . The sound effects were just right and in fact the whole production worked well in all aspects.

I liked the pairing of the two sets of Fairy Godmothers – the good and the bad. The good were Emily Venn and Janet Bray and Janet in particular showed good comic timing and excellent characterisation.

The bad fairies were a very in-your-face pairing of Mike Collins and Rachel Price. Mike showed a lovely pair of pins, with a good costume and wig. Rachel looked good in her basque and tutu, which gave them the look of a pair of very evil fairies. They interacted well.

Kevin Birkett and Michelle Chamberlain were an amusing King and Queen. Michelle looked good in her outfit, a good foil to Kevin’s rather bumbling King. Sophie Venn made the transition from innocent princess to a flighty piece, without losing her essential naivety.

Leanne Lyndsey White was a very full-on Prince. She had all the right moves and inflections for a panto Prince and her sword fight with the evil Godmother was very well done. I particularly liked Alkesh Lalji as Cream Horn the French chef. He got some really good expressions, with plenty of sauciness.

Rachael Garside gave us a very full-on Justin, excellent projection and meaning in her lines. Jake Dudley created a raunchy Matron, encouraging lots of audience participation. He obviously enjoyed the part and gave it his all.

The three members of the guard were all very different, but Judy Palmer’s understated and dim-witted interpretation was the most amusing.

Charlotte Duffy, the equivalent of a Lord Chamberlain, has a very unusual voice, used to great effect.

The whole cast appeared relaxed and enjoyed themselves, which drew the audience in and ensured we enjoyed the experience, too.