Cinderella at The Broadway, Barking

Well, slap my thigh if it isn't that time of year again! Spruce up your “Boos” … hone your “Behind Yous.” … it's panto season.

And they don't get closer to the heart of generations of "Oh-No-He-Isn’t-ers" than that festive forerunner, Cinderella. Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without two transvestites enslaving a wholesome beauty, after all.

Fast gaining a reputation for being a local panto powerhouse, with an unbroken string of hit productions since 2004, The Broadway teams up this year with Arc Theatre; marrying all the traditional fun of pantomime, with the theatrical ingenuity and contemporary comment that has set Arc apart for 30 years.

A specially written, brand new script and score further upgrades this classic tale of rags to riches promotion, innovatively placing a modern musical at the heart of a traditional panto structure, and ensuring that this particular Cinders will be no push over.

Cinderella is played by Amy Green, a rising star of just 18 years old. An exciting new name to watch, Amy is a local dance student who has just finished her A Levels and was picked from more than 700 actors answering the casting call. This is her first professional production. Her Prince Charming is Sharif Afifi, who comes fresh from Rent at Greenwich Theatre.

They join a seven strong cast including Ian Crowe and Andy Gillies as the Ugly sisters, Dean Kilford as Buttons, Sally Fisher as Marsha the Fairy Godmother and Barbara Jaeson as Rubella, the wicked Stepmother alongside two eight-strong choruses of local children.