Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Bristol Hippodrome

YOU know it's really Christmas when its curtain up on the pantomime, and the Hippodrome should certainly score a hit with this festive favourite.

Who can fail to love innocent Snow White, roar with fury at her Wicked Stepmother, fall about with laughter at the antics of the Seven Dwarfs and aaaah at the fairy footsteps of the little dancers who appear as woodland animals.

This year's star celebrity is Warwick Davis and he absolutely dominates the stage. As you'd expect, the script has many jokes about short people, as well as a hilarious comedy dance routine, and on this occasion, less is definitely more.

This is a really Bristol pantomime, with Hippodrome stalwart Andy Ford as Herman the wicked Queen Morgiana's henchman revelling in his 'Brizzle' tones and local jokes, and of course Prince Clive comes from Clifton.

And of course the city's very own special guest star, Shaun the Sheep. He may make baaaaaaaly an appearance in the first half (boo, hiss) but shows his lovely cuddly self on stage more in the second half, though his ability to take part in dance routines is clearly compromised by the difficulty of seeing where he is going!

This is a wonderful evening, full of fun, laughter, good old-fashioned British humour (so there's a few slightly rude jokes but nothing Granny would be embarrassed by or a six-year-old question the meaning of in embarrassingly piercing tones).

The wicked queen and Snow White, played with steely menace and wide-eyed wondering innocence by Kim Ismay and Francesca Lara Gordon respectively, both have fantastic singing voices and both their solo numbers and final duet are a delight.

Andy Day provides solid support and good rallying for the troops as Muddles, while the team of Dwarfs turn out to be something of a family affair, with Warwick's father-in law Peter, sister-in-law Hayley and daughter Annabelle Grumbling, Blushing and Snoozing their way through the show.

The Hippodrome really is one of the best places to see a panto, having a stage large enough to allow big dance numbers, complicated stage trickery when required and a large enough audience for the community singing, shouting, cheers, boos and hisses to have real volume.

ALISON PHILLIPS