THERE are many families for whom Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a trip to the panto, and on the Isle of Wight a lot head to the stalwart that is Shanklin Theatre each year.

The pantomime has been performed annually, for ten years now, by the dedicated local professional team Spotlight IOW, who work hard to bestow some sunshine on the festive season.

This year it is Sleeping Beauty, which opened on Saturday and runs until January 2.

At £18 for adults it’s only fair that I let you know whether it was good value for money, after all, that’s the job of a theatre reviewer. But I say go for it, having failed to find a fault in the production.

Kudos goes to director Dominic Pope for writing the script himself, when these days it’s so easy to buy a really good one in.

Of course there was a spinning wheel, and the Princess was put to sleep for 100 years, etc, etc, but Dominic made sure there were plenty of twists and turns along the way, and he was sure to include everything expected at a good panto.

Messy scene requiring the stage floor to be covered — tick. Man humiliated in the front row — tick. Double entendres to go over the kids’ heads — tick (although pretty mild). Joke about Wroxall — tick.

The contemporary references were also there, and used to good effect, kicking off with a song from The Greatest Showman, and dropping in Brexit, Baby Shark, and the floating bridge along the way. Yep, this definitely wasn’t last year’s show regurgitated.

The cast were, as you would hope for professionals, faultless.

I particularly liked Charles Johnson as wicked fairy Ravenheart, who put in an absolutely fabulous turn as a cruel yet totes glam diva of a baddie.

James Derbyshire was the textbook Disney-style prince, working well with Joe Alabaster as his Dogsbody.

Equally brilliant performances came from James Pellow as Bossy Flossy, who had numerous costume changes to contend with, and the delightfully funny fairies Rachael Stratton, Katherine Rashley and Rowan Lathey.

Dominic Pope took the part of various military characters, all played for laughs in different ways, and laugh the audience most certainly did.

Emily Abbott was Sleeping Beauty. She looked and sounded the part and gave a confident performance in the title role.

Well done to all involved, including producer Jayne Derbyshire, the crew and the live band.

If you haven’t sorted a Christmas treat yet, get your tickets booked while you still can. You won’t regret it, oh no you won’t.