Mirror, mirror on the wall ...

... which is the greatest panto of them all?

Well, that’s an impossible question to answer as the country starts to get infected with ‘he’s behind you!’ fever.

There are many pantomimes deserving of being played out in front of packed audiences across the Southern Daily Echo circulation area.

But the traditional family favourite Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has to be right up there with the best.

Winchester’s Theatre Royal started it’s panto season this week and Snow White and her friends deserve to be well supported.

It was a great performance, stuffed full of everything that makes for a successful pantomime.

You just cannot beat a bloke dressed up as a large woman in ridiculous outfits, and Dame Dolly Dollop is a real star, complete with an impressive line in ad libs.

Dame Dolly is the character for the adults to keep an eye on.

Charlotte Melissa Tyler is a superb Snow White in what is writer James Barry’s ninth in-house production at the Theatre Royal.

And Muddles – Dolly’s son – is silliness personified and guaranteed to get the younger members of the audience laughing and cheering.

The storyline keeps very much to the traditional Snow White story beloved of countless generations, featuring the Wicked Witch, Handsome Prince, and of course the seven small fellows – played by a mixture of adult and child actors.

The dwarfs are always great fun in productions such as this, and they don’t disappoint – just don’t mention the Wicked Queen Narcissa’s name in front of them!

There is a nice twist regarding the Magic Mirror, and more than a nod to the 21st century with a sat nav gag which was one of my favourite moments of the evening.

A word of warning, though. Make sure you are in good voice if you are preparing a visit.

There is lots of audience participation – more so than any other panto I’ve ever been to – and Muddles leads a sing-a-long towards the end.

By the end, we’d been treated to what has to be two hours of the best panto entertainment around.

The big city pantos generally get the ‘celebrities’ and most of the headlines.

I hadn’t heard of any of the cast prior to watching Snow White.

But it’s not the quality of name that matters, it’s the quality of performance.

And this was near faultless fun from start to finish.