But he is the engine -- and the accredited director -- behind this great, fun-filled family show.

Pantos at the Palace have really hit a yompingly fine stride since Dolan arrived five years ago. He’s one of those likely lads -- ideal as Buttons or Wishee-Washee or, as here, the court jester -- who can loon around like the necessary eejit but still come away with hilariously clever wordplay that leaves audiences helpless with laughter... and repeating the jokes to one another afterwards.

What’s more, Dolan is up for the kind of messy-splatter slap-stick that has kids shrieking with disbelieving glee.

As with the Principal Boy -- and by the way, Laura McMonagle cuts a classy can-do dash as Prince Valiant at the Palace -- the business of custard-pie clowning is a panto tradition that has exited stage left in many venues.

Sad, really. Especially when you see how well the old tricks can work when tackled with fresh enthusiasm. Talking of which, John Hannibal’s Dame, Nanny Nora Noo, is a right go-getter -- tee-hee! Nora’s inappropriate urge to go get a man soon becomes an ongoing source of richly grotesque comedy.

If there’s a hint of wicked camp in Brenda Cochrane's Carabosse, it -- and her singing -- adds a wink of showbiz glam to the character before she transforms into a... but let’s not spoil a special effect that, like our Jester’s time machine and much else in this panto, provides young and old with the panto-time of their lives.

 

Star rating: ****