Cinderella, the Company of Four, Riverside Theatre, Woodbridge, until SaturdayTHOUGHT the pantomime season was behind us? Oh, no it isn't!A good job too, with the warm welcome from all involved well worth braving the freezing elements.

Cinderella, the Company of Four, Riverside Theatre, Woodbridge, until Saturday

THOUGHT the pantomime season was behind us? Oh, no it isn't!

A good job too, with the warm welcome from all involved well worth braving the freezing elements.

First-time director June Allum has put together a tightly paced production that seemed to whiz past in next to no time, which is a plus if you've got seat-squirmy youngsters.

Even better, this traditional pantomime had plenty for young and old alike - with a good mix of songs, dance pieces and more jokes than you could wave a wand at.

There were strong performances from all the cast and I thought Buttons (Neil Thorpe) worked the increasingly raucous audience well.

Ugly sisters Lavetina (an excellent Paul Leech) and Potterina (Debbie Osborne) provided many of our favourite laugh-out loud moments, albeit not all of them scripted.

An apparent adlib about wrinkles during their make-over squabble still had us laughing on the way home.

There were a few fumbles here and there, mostly of a technical nature. These things happen so early in a run and thanks to the cast's infectious thirst for fun only added to the experience.

If I had one criticism it would be that it was sometimes hard to hear the vocals during some of the larger musical numbers.

All in all, we had an absolute ball.

Wayne Savage