Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without the St Neots Players’ pantomime and the audience snow ball fight.

This year the Players, under the pen and direction of Kevin Wallace, gave us Pantomonium, with traditional pantomime characters and stories set in a modern computer age. When the computer breaks down, the characters all become mixed up in each other’s stories and the resulting mayhem and confusion provides a refreshing break with tradition, but with all the elements of pantomime good verses evil that audiences love.

There were, of course, lots of jokes about the frustrations of computer technology, and although the overall theme was perhaps adult-based, it was easy enough for children to follow and understand. All the traditional wit and humour were there, as was the panto booing and hissing and “he’s behind you” audience participation that gets children up on their feet yelling at the stage.

There were some exceptional performances from some of the younger members of the cast, Alissa King-Underwood as Tinks the fairy was wonderful, as was Billie-Jo Rainbird who took on the role of Cinderella.

Bryony Mountford (Red Riding Hood) put in a commanding performance as did Abbie Miles (Snow White). In fact, the three central characters, Cinders, Snow White and Red Riding Hood, delivered a real sparkle and chemistry when they appeared together on stage.

One of my favourite performances came from newcomer Michael Mazzone who played Prince Handsome. He gave us a stand-out performance with his effortless and natural wit, moving around the stage with the confidence of an old pro. Can’t wait to see what he does next.

The Babac Bees Musical Theatre group members also provided some superb performances with their song and dance routines.

INFO: The Players are holding auditions for the upcoming, The Vicar of Dibley, on January 4 and 6 at The Priory Centre in St Neots at 7.30pm.

www.stneotsplayers.co.uk.