Mayhem, antics and romance were the ingredients for the 13th annual Pantomime from the Roses Theatre, Tewkesbury, from the writers Iain Lauchlan and Will Brenton.

As soon as the curtains went up and Little Willie (Dan Hagley) appeared, I knew it was going to be a good show.

Dame Dorothy Do-It (Tim Freeman) maintained the slapstick throughout, along with his special humour entertaining both children and adults.

There was also romance with the beautiful Beauty (Linzi Mathews) who lives with her father (David Rex) and the Beast/Prince (Jon Edgley Bond).

The audience got to heckle the arrogant but good-looking bully Eugene (Jai Armstrong) and his side-kick pimple (Debbie Manuel) who try to win Beauty’s heart.

Of course, no pantomime is complete without the magical stage settings.

We saw inside and out the dark and scary castle with its beautiful climbing roses and the town in which much of the mayhem takes place.

The costumes were brilliant but none could top Dame Dorothy Do-It’s spectacular ensemble.

This show was a joy. We managed to escape to a fantasy world thanks to the brilliant writing, choreography by Paul Hutton, music by Julian Brown and Steve Crickett and the costumes.

Beauty and the Beast runs until Saturday, January 3.

Claire Jones