This year’s Cambridge Arts Theatre Panto is packed with colour and energy, and the best in traditional pantomime entertainment. Dick Whittington is the familiar story of the poor lad who makes good, and becomes Lord Mayor of London. Our hero enjoys songs and jokes, makes hilarious new friends on the way, and sees off the baddies in style. The panto tradition is full of curious essentials: the girl-in-tights playing the leading man, the man-in-frocks playing the leading lady, the audience interaction, the oh-no-it-isn’ts, and of course the predictably happy and uplifting ending.

Much of what goes into panto doesn’t seem to make much sense, but when the production is as professional and entertaining as this, it doesn’t matter. At the centre of the evening is Matt Crosby who not only plays the Dame (Sarah the Cook) but also co-wrote the script. He accomplishes both with excellence and energy. Crosby and Al Morley’s script is suitably silly, with laughs for every age group present, from the tiniest kiddies to the slightly tipsy adults who want to giggle at the obligatory innuendo. The writing never strays too far off course and, even if some elements of the inherited plot are a bit weird, they manage to inject some fun into every scene.

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As a dame, Crosby has a huge stage presence - and an even huger wardrobe. I lost count of how many costume changes his character had, including some amazingly fun creations that owed as much to engineering as to fashion. He had a fantastic rapport with the audience, and it was impossible to tell which asides were scripted and which were ad-libbed: a sign of a really talented entertainer. Thankfully, he never let his costumes get in the way of his singing and dancing. This was also true for Daniel Cummins who played Tommie the Cat. In head to toe fur, Cummins managed to bounce his way around the stage all evening, making full use of his cat’s ears and tail to enhance every hyperactive movement. He was a true clown, in the best sense of the word, and made a fantastic companion for Dick Whittington (played by the superbly strong Holly Easterbrooke). Eastbrooke’s acting and singing were utterly charming, and she made a very convincing hero, even with those astonishingly long feminine legs.

Robert Rees was the loveable and dim Idle Jack, for whom nothing ever went right. The more that went wrong for him, the more the audience loved him. The sets and costumes were lavish and expensive, impressively designed and full of colour and magic. Lighting was slick, with instant changes from the brightness of the happy musical numbers to the darkness and gloom of the lair of King Rat. This ultimate baddie was played with aplomb by the fabulously talented Paul Nicholas. His voice boomed, filling the entire theatre with his evil plans. With little more than the raise of an eyebrow or the curl of a villainous smile he managed to bring the house down. His rendition of “Like a Rat out of Hell” was the musical highlight of the evening, as he effortlessly summoned up all the power and charisma that any heavy-metal villain could ever need. He clearly relished the part, and brilliantly handled any heckles the audience threw at his character, positively daring them to push him even further.

"In an era dominated by on-demand television and internet videos, this really was a masterclass in how brilliant live laughter can be."

There were some wonderful comic scenes, notably the cooking scene where Sarah The Cook and Idle Jack try to prepare dinner on board a ship. I won’t spoil the brilliance of the set-design, but the entire galley of the ship pitched and rolled in rough seas, causing mayhem for these two cooks. The perfection of the physical comedy of this sequence is beyond description, and the rougher the seas got, the more extreme the chaos became. The slapstick built and built, and the laughter multiplied with the addition of every new gag. In an era dominated by on-demand television and internet videos, this really was a masterclass in how brilliant live laughter can be.

We probably could have done without quite so much time spent in Morocco, or some of the odder musical choices, and maybe there could have been a few more members in the band. But with a supporting chorus of highly skilled singers and dancers, backed up with some amazingly bubbly local child-actors, the principals of this panto chomp through the evening with style and humour. Despite what anyone may think of the oddness of traditional British panto, under the direction of Carole Todd, the Arts Theatre have delivered a strong and fun evening for the entire family to come and enjoy