For a witch to cast her spells she needs to own a cat. Baba Yugga believes that by stealing all the cats, she will be the ultimate witch with total power over all before her, but one cat eludes her – Tiddlywink-Puss, the Miller’s cat… Although not the usual Puss in Boots tale, this version included the familiar characters: camp queen, beautiful princess, handsome hero, villainous witch, Good Fairy (the splendid Liz Philo), and eponymous cat. Jane Blatch-Gainey (hypochondriac Dotilda) was excellent, but it was Jasper Bone, a most unlikely suitor, who stole the show with his first-class slapstick, verbal comedy, mannerisms and vocal skills.

This was a long pantomime, not helped by apparent sound level issues (with some significant tuning issues with the singing), and the younger audience members were starting to fidget by the end.

However, with a colourful storybook set and strong principal performances, this was still very entertaining.

Puss in Boots – Collingwood RSC Millennium Hall, HMS Collingwood, Fareham