ITS PANTO season again – oh yes it is – and I’ve been down to see the latest offering on at The Anvil.

Sleeping Beauty is the story of Briar Rose (Katrina Bryan), the princess of a kingdom, who is cursed from birth by evil Carabosse to sleep for 100 years if she were to prick her finger on a spinning wheel. You get to follow the adventures that all the characters go through in order to make sure that she comes to no harm.

The cast are on top form, with Only Fools and Horses Sue Holderness putting in a terrific performance as the evil fairy Carabosse, commanding the stage and shining in her musical number in act two. She looks and sounds the part of the scary villain, who is up to no good, and enjoys being bad. A really great panto villain performance, which counters the niceness of the Good Fairy, played by Hollyoaks star Sarah Jane Buckley, who also puts in a great performance, playing the role very well.

The star of the whole show for me was veteran panto dame Charles Burden as Nanny Glucose, who had the audience laughing from when he came on the stage, wearing garish clothes and spouting jokes as quick as anything, to when he left. He plays very well with 2010’s Britain’s got Talent finalist Mark James, who plays Silly Billy, who make a comedy duo onstage that is a pleasure to watch. Their cooking routine in the palace kitchen is a highlight, with slapstick humour and a pinch of wit making for a very funny scene.

The whole affair was an update on what you might call the ‘traditional’ pantomime, with songs still in the charts being put on stage, much to the audience’s delight. There were a lot of children up and on their feet dancing with the end number, and copious joining in was encouraged the whole way through. As well as that, there were jokes about Pokemon GO and other fresh jokes, which made sure that it didn’t feel stale.

Also, there were some local jokes about areas in and around Basingstoke, including Festival Place and Tadley, making the performance feel like it is being put on for the benefit of this audience only.

All in all, it is a great performance to take your family along to, with jokes for everyone, fun songs and enough laughs to keep even the most stubborn of grandparents smiling all the way through.