From a showbiz style opening to a grand finale that literally sparkles in pink and silver, this year's pantomime at the Theatre Royal is out to deliver on its promise to be 'the best one yet'.
And getting Cinderella off to a cracking start on Thursday night was Joe McElderry belting out Could It Be Magic in the first scene - with lyrics tweaked, panto-style - and then it was full-on, non-stop action, fun and slapstick laughs. It's all such high energy you wonder how on earth they do it - yet they'll be doing it twice, sometimes three times, a day right up to January 15.
The annual panto's winning formula is its director and producer Michael Harrison and its stars - father and son team Clive Webb and Danny Adams, this time playing Buttons and Cinderella's dad Baron Hardup - who have taken fans along on their madcap ride at the Theatre Royal now for 17 years.
