IT’S perhaps a little ironic in these cash-strapped times to think of being able to go to London to seek your fortune, but then this year’s panto at Salisbury Playhouse is based in a golden era when life was lived in technicolour and it was perfectly possible to believe the city’s streets might be paved with gold.

Tom Oakley is a charming Dick Whittington, who runs out of money building Salisbury Cathedral’s spire and determines to head to London to raise the cash to finish the job.

There he is destined to fall in love with the beautiful but spoilt Alice Fitzwarren (Laura Matthews), and fight the evil King Rat (a marvellously villainous Richard Hurst) who is plotting to take over the capital with his gang of rodent rogues.

Dick is helped along the way by a sprinkling of magic from Cockney Fairy Bowbells (Gemma Wardle), his faithful sidekick Tabby the Cat (Ella Vale), and his mother Silly Willy Whittington, played by Keiran Buckeridge, who is back after wowing last year’s audiences as Dame Nanny Fanny in Sleeping Beauty.

The cast of just seven main characters, ably supported by a chorus of six local schoolchildren, give their all in a glittering panto that serves up all the usual ingredients: fabulous frocks, colourful sets, catchy tunes and plenty of audience participation.

The original music is written by Keiran Buckeridge, and includes some real show-stoppers – there’s a great number with a gospel feel sung by Ella Vale as Tabby the Cat, who finds her voice just in time to deliver a stand-out performance.

Just like last year, it’s the dame who steals the show – Buckeridge is just fabulous as Mrs Whittington. With each costume more outrageous than the last, he prances around the stage breathing new life into those age-old panto gags. The scene with Alice’s father Alderman Fitzwarren (played by panto veteran Tim Treslove) – a cheese shop owner with a penchant for Cockney rhyming slang – had the audience in stitches; a little bit of slapstick comedy goes a long way with a panto audience at Christmas.

Writer Andrew Pollard’s Dick Whittington does wander into strange territory – the cast is at one point stuck on a tropical island where they encounter a furry gorilla (welcomed by an enthusiastic chorus of “he’s behind you”), and a King Rat transformed into Elvis.

It may have perplexed a few adults, but the children happily went with the flow.

My youngest was delighted by Fairy Bowbells and Silly Willy turning into vividly pink Flo-mingos – how could a nine-year-old fail to fall for all those feathers and frills?

If you want a pantomime with celebrities, gimmicks and gizmos, Salisbury Playhouse’s panto isn’t for you. But if you like traditional family entertainment with lots of laughs and plenty of the feel-good factor, Dick Whittington and his Cat is the perfect Christmas treat.