Let's look at this from the perspective of the bears' porridge ...

some seasonal productions end up over-heated, with so much going on they become hard to swallow. Other shows set out to be so cool they kind of stick in the throat, choking back the all-essential laughter and boos. But this Goldilocks, cooked up in Easterhouse by a tremendously talented Platform team, gets the mix just right with jokes and songs, romance and show-downs to suit all tastes and ages.

Writer Lewis Hetherington has cunningly tweaked the original tale into a present-day encounter between the haves – Goldie (Jenny Hulse) and her banker tycoon mother, Mrs Locks – and the have nots, those poor but happy bears who live at one with nature in the woods. Those woods, by the way, are gorgeously realised in Claire Halleran's design which snuggles a wee split-level cottage among huge, snow-covered trees. This is where Goldie, in a fit of restless curiosity, causes pure havoc in the lives of Mummy Bear and Baby Bear. The Daddy is out of the picture, but let's just say he was framed ...

Without giving away too many of Hetherington's delectable twists, I'll reveal there's more to Baby Bear (John Scougall) than meets the eye and that love, not money, wins the day – despite the machinations of Mrs Locks (played by Angela Darcy who also doubles as a cuddly, couthy Mummy Bear). There are pithy skites against bankers, airhead fashionistas and the affluently selfish, alongside lots of great music and top-notch singing from a cast of three who are the cream, sugar and spice on this serving of panto fun.

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