It was always going to be a completely bizarre night when it was announced that Sir Ian McKellen was to star in panto, alongside John Bishop in Mother Goose.
The tour began, as pantos traditionally do, at Christmas time. Yet here we were at the beginning of March on a dreary night in Liverpool, watching a show that was full of all the usual jokes and traditions that raise our spirits during the festive season.
Perhaps even more unusual was that somehow, by the end of the evening, it all felt quite right. It finished with a big smiley sing-along, everyone up on their feet, not quite sure what they had just witnessed, but delighted about it nonetheless.
