Part one of a round-up of the pantomimes around the region this festive season

This peculiarly British form of theatre (it literally doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world – although Benidorm productions find an audience thanks, presumably, to the British immigrants there) has an obvious appeal: it’s a daft, fun, funny night out where, if you’re willing, you can throw off the shackles of societally-demanded British reserve.

Which is why we start our round up with the Leeds City Varieties’ Rock ‘n’ Roll panto, the only one in the list that comes with a warning. No, really.

The theatre issued this disclaimer, unusually, along with its announcement of this year’s show: “The Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto can be a noisy affair, with pyrotechnics and flashing lights, plus some audience members may receive a minor drenching, resulting in outbreaks of festive mayhem. From experience, we don’t recommend our panto for children under four-years-old, but if guests do want to bring toddlers, we recommend ear defenders.”

Yes, you read that right – if you want to see Dick Whittington, this year’s offering, you might want to avoid taking the little ones along with you.

An absence of youngsters in the audience aside, it does have all the traditional things you expect from a pantomime, just with added rock ‘n’ roll jukebox classics. As the team behind the show put it: “Where else can you see the Fairy Godmother banging the drums and the Panto Dame playing the sax?”. It’s at the theatre until January 8.

Whatever your opinion on panto, it is impossible to deny that the Bradford Alhambra’s annual offering is a serious bit of theatre. Not that the production is serious – it is undeniably silly – but the stagecraft on show from panto king Billy Pearce and the amount of money spent on effects and the rest of the paraphernalia on stage is seriously serious.

This year’s show is Jack and the Beanstalk featuring Pearce, who has to be one of the country’s most accomplished panto performers, as Farmer Billy.

The stalwart is this year joined by Emmerdale actor Danny Miller, who was until a couple of weeks ago also the King of the Jungle before he was dethroned by newly crowned Queen Jill Scott in I’m a Celebrity. Also joining the cast this year is RuPaul’s Drag Race UK runner-up Divina De Campo, seen most recently by Yorkshire audiences in the critically acclaimed Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Leeds Playhouse earlier this year. Arguably the region’s biggest panto, it is definitely the longest running, in residence at the Bradford theatre until January 22.

For those who like drama, there has been a real off-stage drama playing up at York over the last few years. It would take too long to explain the ins and outs, but in a nutshell, Berwick Kaler spent three decades bringing his particularly brand of pantomime to the city’s major producing house – until he didn’t. The curtain came down – but rose again on the Berwick Kaler-led show at the city’s other big theatre, the York Grand Opera House.

Kaler, who is officially the country’s longest reigning panto dame, is joined, obviously, on stage by David Leonard, Martin Barrass, Suzy Cooper and more recent addition, AJ Powell. One wonders whatever might happen if York didn’t welcome Kaler at Christmas time in his elaborate dresses, perhaps the city would fall? We needn’t worry this year, because he will be on the stage of the Grand Opera House calling out for his babbies, his bairns, as ever, through until January 8.

The other side of that little off-stage drama is York Theatre Royal. This year the theatre is hosting the All New Adventures of Peter Pan as its pantomime. Directed by the highly regarded Juliet Forster, this is the second co-production between York Theatre Royal and Evolution Productions. Last year’s show was nominated as Best Pantomime at the British Pantomime Awards.

At the same event, Paul Hawkyard and Robin Simpson, who played the Ugly Sisters, were nominated as Best Uglys: and that award is one of the reasons it is easy to wax lyrical about the odd – very odd – appeal of pantomime on this weird little island.

More next week.