Review: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ****

This is Billy Pearce's 12th year at the Alhambra and, as ever, he ensures the production is panto gold. As Muddles, the court jester and Snow White's best friend, he combines physical comedy with silly jokes to bring belly laughs from young and old alike.

He is more than ably assisted this year by the rest of the cast including the sensational Sian Reeves (Sally Spode in Emmerdale and Sydney Henshall in Cutting It), who plays the Wicked Queen. She's an all-singing, all-dancing actress with bells on.

Kelly Chinery's Snow White is fairytale true and her voice is note perfect, while her American prince, Stephen Craig, brings some Hollywood glamour to the role.

Comedian Peter Piper is superb and pops up in a variety of different guises, and special mention must go to the dwarves and in particular to Yorkshireman Michael Walter aka "Big Mick".

They're just some of the highlights. There are many others including the sets, the 3D effects and Billy's lycra-clad bottom attempting a bit of rock climbing. The only concern I have is how long the star of the show can keep it up (yes, he'll like this double entendre).

The show plays almost every day for two months and each time the curtain goes up it's an exhausting two-and-a-half hours of hard-core singing, dancing and slapstick for a man who isn't getting any younger. A Google search tells me he is now 56.

That's not old, of course, but if you want to see him in his prime, you'd better get it while you can.

To February 6.