The Masque Players’ panto always makes the perfect antidote to drab winter weather and a magical intro to the festive season.

This weekend it gave us a laughter-filled rollercoaster ride through traditional pantoland that delighted a packed West Wycombe Village Hall.

Highlight of the show was Justin Clinch’s take on Widow Twankey, a superb performance which held the audience in the palm of his/her hand.

Justin has amazing ad-lib style, reacting to every incident and catcall in the audience and inspiring everyone’s participation.

And of course the costumes and particularly the wigs were as whacky as they should be.

His son Wishee Washee (Jack Orr) provided a lively comic turn, a kind of lovable hyper-active Frank in Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em (for those of us who remember).

A constant source of laughs were the Shanghai police duo Officer Hu and Officer Mi.

Inevitably, the script contained lots of “Who, me?” lines, at which Hu and Mi would turn up creating verbal ding-dongs.

Our baddie for the night was truly evil, with Steve Powell playing Abanazar to tremendous applause. Great singing voice too.

Accolades go to the rest of the cast, with Laura Hounslow a good Aladdin, Sasha Klein winsome as the princess, David Sutton as the emperor… and many more who filled this tiny stage with colour, song and fun.

It’s amazing to see what a local community of amateur dramatics enthusiasts can achieve.

This is the Masque Players’ 75th season, drawing members from a wide area around West Wycombe.

All credit to the whole group, on stage and behind.