IT’S fair to say that when you go to a pantomime, you know what to expect.

Formulaic storyline? Check. Cheesy tunes? Check. Smutty jokes for the parents? Check.

Not to mention the over-the-top costumes and loudly hyperactive characters – and that’s just the audience.

Nevertheless, there’s nothing quite like a panto to sprinkle a bit of festive cheer on an otherwise dreary Wednesday night, #weatherbomb and all.

Believe you me, I’ve been to some bad ones. But as far as the genre goes, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Manchester Opera House is a storming success.

Genuine laugh-out-loud funniness is my usual criteria, and this certainly had that by the bucket load thanks to the tongue-in-cheek wit of panto veteran Tam Ryan.

Location-tailored in-jokes are one of the best bits of the panto madness and thanks to playing Muddles in Manchester for the last five years, Tam’s were spot on.

A few over-eager audience members spurred on the rest of us from the start, ensuring things frequently descended into all-out screaming, shouting panto fun as it should be.

Natalie Andreou’s pitch-perfect vocals ensured she was a sufficiently sassy (if there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s a feeble heroine) Snow White.

Yank Daniel Stockton as Herman the Henchman and ex-Brookside star Philip Olivier balanced each other out nicely, and embraced their roles with panache.

Star turn of the night had to be director Warwick Davis, who also took the role of Prof, leader of the seven dwarfs. He and his gang of miniature merry men had some of the best quips and loudest laughs.

Priscilla Presley happily hammed it up as the Wicked Queen but seemed a little off – between a few minor line-fluffs and stumbles, she didn’t have the sweeping elegance and full-on creepiness I was expecting.

Suffice to say, by the end of proceedings this reviewer had happily regressed back to childhood and were merrily singing Heigh Ho! with the rest of kids.

  • Snow White is on at the Manchester Opera House until January 4 2015.