★★★★

AS PANTOMIMES are all about the children, I asked my seven year-old daughter what she thought I should write about the show. Peter Pan at the Hawth is "AMAAAZING", she said - instructing me to use three As in the middle of the word for emphasis.

She and the hundreds of children packed into the theatre had sat through the entire two-hour show mesmerised by the acting, special effects and excitement.

What better way than to put the cherry on the cake at Christmas than to enjoy the story of the boy who never grew up, the lost boys in Neverland and their heroic battles with Captain Hook? The special effects were fantastic. Peter Pan flew above the crowd early on and then he, Wendy, Michael and John flew above London, which was projected on to the stage as they headed to Neverland.

There was a great fire show and the main stage set was impressive too, the rocky island on one side, spinning round to be the pirate ship on the other. The stars of the show dazzled the children and pulled off plenty of quick-fire, laugh-a-minute jokes for the adults too.

Emma Barton, who plays Honey Mitchell in Eastenders, was a cheeky Tinkerbell and Joseph Elliott and Richard David-Caine from Cbeebies’ Swashbuckle were great fun. Former Eastender Shaun Williamson was a funny Captain Hook.

Hilary O’Neil’s impressions – my favourite was Tess Daly – had us all laughing but the Dame, Michael J Batchelor, stole the show and had me laughing out loud. He appeared to make up some lines on the spot.

He and Joseph Elliott’s comedy routine using fish puns was a highlight and, to steal one of their lines, this show was far from being a turtle disaster.

Arron Hendy