THOSE looking for a festive fairytale classic may have to travel away from Brighton this winter – but Worthing Theatres’ rendition of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is well worth the journey.

Featuring pop singer Chesney Hawkes (of The One and Only fame) as the leading male Prince Benedict, the pantomime is a cracker from start to finish.

The theatre has clearly pulled out all the stops with set design, its costuming spot on (with each of the Simon Howe’s dame’s outfit changes more garish than the last), and the music and gags bringing the theatre genre into the modern day. With a combination of West End grade singing, marvellous choreography and a surprising tap number, the cast worked together in perfect unison – though it’s Cassie Compton as Snow White and Louise Cannon, who did a fantastic job stepping in as the evil Queen, whose vocals stood out among their peers.

While Chesney Hawkes was arguably the biggest star of the show – his two throwback performances of The One and Only saw to that – the standout performance came from Richard David-Caine, of CBeebies Swashbuckle double act Cook and Line, who plays the evil Queen’s henchman Herman.

A slapstick performance in the middle of the second act secured his place, as he, CBeebies co-star Joseph Elliott and Simon Howe struggled to compose themselves through all the ridicule. Unfortunately, in contrast, Jo Brand’s appearance through pre-recorded video link as the magic mirror felt lazy and did little to improve the overall performance.

Still, a fantastic show and an excellent night out with or without children to drag along; this panto does a lot to answer which is the fairest of them all.