... Santa and Nicolas Stirling It is Christmas Eve and Nicolas is bored with being left on his own to watch telly. He is fed up with his parents and wants a ski-board so he can play in the snow even if it only exists on the TV screen and in his imagination. So when he wakes up in the middle of the night, to find a strange girl in the sitting room who tells him how Santa is fed up because no one ...

... Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Worthing What are the basic ingrediants required to make a good pan tomime? Music, mayhem and magic, plus glittering costumes, sparkling sets and a host of charac ters ranging from the bizarre to the beautiful and at the Pavilion Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs pretty much had the lot. Show creators Hammond Productions manages to sqeeze all the necessary ...

... The Snow Queen Hounslow Parasol's Richard Gill has adapted Hans Christian Andersen's tale of devilry and shattered glass as an adventure story for younger audiences, filling the eye with images of prancing white wolves, a giant Swan and a palace of glittering danger at the journey's end. but instead of breaking into dangerous splinters the Snow Queen's distorting mirror becomes an obsession ...

... Little Red Riding Hood Rotherham The spirit of pantomime is alive and well at the Civic Theatre, where Duggie Chapman's show is delight ing audiences, with local favourite Barry Cheese making a most appealing Muddles, gleeful, full of life and fun, yet sympathetic. Personable Rob Malone plays Prince with a light touch, with Ann Micklethwaite as a sweet Red Riding Hood, equipped with a strong ...

... Dick Whittington Bishops Stortford Rhodes Centre's pantomime could be called plucky, courageous even, but not spectacular. A young cast tries hard to make David Baldock's script as funny as possible but director Lucy O'Hare allows her charges to screech almost continuously. Glyn Trefor-Jones tries hard to bring a simple sincerity to the role and he sings well. Nicole Freeman- Wright as his Cat ...

... Cinderella Halifax Bold, but never brash, the Victoria Theatre's show never loses sight of the fact that it is telling a favourite story. It is a beautifully constructed pantomime with colourful sets and radiant lighting. The dancing is crisp and varied and the songs are staged with spirit and style. Once a feeling of briskness is brought to Act I its success will be assured. The Royle ...

... Jack and the Beanstalk Grays Darren Williams, Thameside's ever-expansive Dame, solved a pantomime conundrum bothering me about this year's crop: sympathy was the missing quality in those dames criticised as too blokish. Williams, as president of the Grays Massive, abusive to his audience as he likes, never forgets Tilly is a poor widow. Combine his talents with Darren Maddison's likeable ...

... The New Adventures of Peter Pan Southend-on-Sea What was Edwardian, gentle, subtle and, yes. rather fey has become brash, raucous and in-yer-face in Terry Morrison's production at the Cliffs Pavilion. The enigmatic James Barrie would recognise his material but it is played at full volume for the MTV age. Thus Shane Richie as Mr Darling swaggers about telling jokes with a strong Estuary ...

... Aladdin Hastings White Rock Theatre, once a huge hospital, is a rambling place with a large stage. Paul Hammond's cure is to engage 68 babes and dancers, sending them on stage in alternating troupes of 20. Strong and colourful production scenes are the result, with performers even dancing in the aisles via Lisa Jarrett's choreography. Mitchell Armstrong has much to do as a strangely hatless ...

... Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Shanklin, loW Pantomimes at Shanklin Theatre just get better each year and this is a feast of fun, colour, surprises and excitement, with enough tradition to delight audiences with a wonderfully messy kitchen scene and a brief but effective ghost sequence. The real success of any Snow White production so often depends on the evil queen. In this case Traci Porter ...

... Dick Whittington and His Cat Chipping Norton Dick Whittington began his journey to London from Coberley, just a few miles from Chipping Norton, so it's appropriate that he is the subject of this years panto at The Theatre. Contrary to principal boy cus tom, Charles Baker is the amiable adventurer, and although he is given a warm welcome into the Rtzwarren household, Sarah the Cook isn't ...

... Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Redhill Attractive dancing choreographed by Helen Jeckells is the heart and soul of a polished production at the Harlequin Theatre. All branches excel to provide a great treat for the Christmas family outing. Comedy comes across in a relaxed manner with Richard Dax a homely and highly effective Dame and Peter Simon romping with the children as Muddles. He talks ...