This delightful three-person show from Big Wooden Horse, which is based by writer and composer Adam-Bampton-Smith on a book by The Wizard of Oz creator L. Frank Baum, supplies what might be called a revisionist view of Father Christmas.

Out goes the Lapland residence, for this Santa lives in the aptly named Ho Ha Ho Valley. Out go anything in the way of ‘little helpers’ in the toy factory. Out, even, goes Rudolph with his red nose, the present delivery sleigh being hauled instead by reindeers called Glossy and Flossy.

It was even starting to look as if this was a Santa with no red coat or white beard. Only at the very end of the show, when the audience assists to win our hero immortality, in the fashion of Tinkerbell’s revival in Peter Pan, does Santa sport either.

Andrew Pugsley, with a light beard of his own, plays the character throughout, while Rachel Fletcher-Hudson and Nick Ash expertly present a range of other characters.

Music plays a big part in the success of this 50-minute show, which had the three- and four-year-olds around me in the stalls rapt throughout. Go on, give them a treat!

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus 
Cornerstone, Didcot
Until Dec 24
Box office: 01235 515144, cornerstone-arts.org.uk