The Mountbatten Players report themselves as staging amateur theatre with a professional outlook and that was immediately apparent with the sparkling sets, a good script full of wit and story-weaving (Daniel Farrell), gorgeous costumes (Liz Powney), creative lighting (Luke Hornbuckle) and sharp choreography (Nicola Buss and Elle Wolf).

There were significant issues with the sound, which will hopefully be ironed out.

The principals had developed their characters and relationships and delivered the traditional panto roles with flair and style.

The comedy trio were energetic, with a surfeit of gags to amuse the audience and a good repartee (Andrew Jenks, Helen Wood and Chris Davis).

The namesake Robin (Elle Wolf) sang and moved well and gave a very convincing performance when paired with Maid Marian (Felicity Cooke).

The Sheriff (Paul Young) was subtle (for panto) but deeply villainous and his hapless puppet (whoops Prince!) was a suitable stooge.

The cast seemed a little timid initially but grew in confidence as the show progressed.

There were some great and popular songs included, all backed up by the superb orchestra, led by musical director (Chris Ball).

This show is worth a look.

Rebecca Case