Well, here’s a to-do! Oh yes it is! This is one of the very best Playhouse pantomimes since, well, probably the last time Peter Duncan was involved (he both wrote and directs this).

It’s a feast for the eye – with set design, especially when we reach the clouds and find ourselves in Cyber City, a major plus; there isn’t a part that isn’t played to the hilt and all the characters really have character.

Duncan has achieved that essential balance that must be achieved: modernity – well-performed pop songs and ballads, grim jokes about The X-Factor, a fun touch of product advertising (“Jamie’s Diner” mentioned en passant in a Dame Trott ditty) and a splendidly-updated baddy as a ghastly rocker – and the basic classic tale of beans, a stalk, a man-eating giant and a proper Buttercup the Cow (great stalk, by the way).

On the afternoon I went, the children in the audience were in full-voice from the outset, cheering the Garden Fairy (a straightforward classic from Deborah Crowe) and hissing the rocker, otherwise known as Fleshcreepy (Chris Larner, who effectively has three roles to play and is the stand-out actor). Laura Pitt-Pulford is a delightfully demure Jill with a strong singing voice and her Jack is played by Chris Carswell in proper leading man style. Alan French is the Dame (pictured), and don’t we know it (oh yes we . . . stop it!); with more than a hint of Dick Emery, he’s great fun and carries off his wonderful costumes with naughty panache (stand up costume designer Amanda Hambleton for the whole show).

Richard Stacey plays both the Squire (pictured) and Giant Blunderbore (the latter with great resonance) and there is a sharply professional performance from Matthew Fraser Holland as Jack’s brother Willie (he also dealt extremely well with six young children brought on stage to sing at the end). It would be remiss of me not to mention the energetic Shaun Paul Smith and Jonathan Norman (dual roles as Buttercup and the Cyborg Dogs) and the eye-catching dancing and generally pretty presence of Michelle White and Kelly Chinery.

This is super Christmas entertainment throughout (all adults in the audience seemed to enjoy themselves as much as the kids). And don’t miss the exhibition of Korky Paul pantomime originals that line the Playhouse stairs. Oh yes they do!