Once again the Pompey panto sets the bar impressively high

The first fart gag came after 30 seconds, the first Southampton jibe within 30 seconds more. And then he was out in the audience flirting with a slightly less than thrilled guy in the front row.

Jack Edwards, as ever, is the heart and soul of the Pompey panto – and once again he lights up the stage, this time in the distinctly different role of the fairy godmother.

In his expert hands the role is far bigger than it would usually be and comes with far far far more chaotic cheeky oomph than fairy godmothers usually get to bestow.

Whether it’s a role that gives Jack the best chance to do what Jack does best is probably another question, though.

Edwards gives us a fairy desperately hoping to be awarded her wings for her intervention in the tragic case of poor little Cinders, the downtrodden girl hideously mistreated by her sisters (oddly we don’t get a father figure here).

And Jack plays it beautifully. But whether it’s a role which takes maximum advantage of the Pompey Panto’s biggest asset – Jack himself – I am not so sure. By the end of the run, you can’t help feeling that the company will probably conclude that Jack’s best showcase is the traditional dame role he has long since made absolutely his own.

But even so, it’s still a fabulous evening of fun. On Sunday perhaps, one or two of the company were still finding their feet; the ghost scene and the 12 Days of Christmas were both a man down – and felt a little underpowered. But otherwise, this was – and how could it not be with Jack on stage – a panto which really did remember to be funny.

The best joke in pantos 2023 so far this year is the one about co-writing a song with Elton John. I doubt it will be beaten. Best entrance so far is Joe Rowntree as the lovestruck Buttons. Definitely no one is going to be beat that. And he really is a fantastic Buttons, endlessly energetic, hopelessly in love and completely endearing. But maybe the night’s big discovery, though, is Michelle Antrobus as Cinderella. It’s a truly lovely performance she gives. It can’t be easy to make downtrodden interesting, but Antrobus gives us a vibrant, entrancing Cinders – and she has got a simply gorgeous voice. When she gets her transport sorted for the ball, the moment is genuinely magical – the lights, the darkness, the intake of breath, the kind of thing you imagine the kiddies in the audience will remember forever.

Julia Worsley and Harry Howle are a male/female combo as the Wicked Step Sisters. We have dropped the word ugly here, it seems. But wisely, the panto elsewhere takes the mick out of PC-ness. Panto would probably collapse if it were embraced wholeheartedly.

And so the panto season is under way, and the Kings, assured and yet with scope to welly it up a little, has set the standard. The bar is impressively high.