ONCE again Basildon's Towngate Theatre has pulled out a Christmas panto spectacular - with this year's offering 'Cinderella' added to a catalogue of memorable productions.

Directed by the effervescent Basildon icon and panto legend Simon Fielding, the show once again reaches production heights unmatched by many regional theatres.

The scenes as Cinders goes to the ball are particularly spectacular but I won't say any more.

The star of much of the show is Luke Ward-Wilkinson as Buttons. Clearly he has learned much of his craft from Simon, a fact he acknowledged on the show night I attended when Simon was actually celebrating his birthday. Luke is really accomplished and won the hearts of all the audience.

As, of course, did the star of the show Sophie Ladds - though with that love comes a host of boos and derision as she milks every moment of evil from her role as the Wicked Stepmother.

Cinderella is the delightful Alice Hoult whose own heart (and that of many of the audience) is captured by Jack Speck's debut senior role as Prince Charming.

An unexpected bonus is Aaron Bladen, as mischievous Dandini - who also captures a heart in a most unexpected way.

Knitting the laughs together throughout are ugly sisters Ian Hallard (his third year in succession at the Towngate) and Stewart Briggs.

The show excels throughout with its professionalism and choreography of the very highest quality. The ensemble routines are superb and are given added value by a real band.

And a special mention must go to the youngsters who make up the cast - though the term 'make-up' does not do them justice. They are stars in their own right. On the night I attended the junior team was Sparkles and they were simply the very best team of youngsters I have seen in a panto. All their hard work and enthusiasm certainly paid off.

If I must be a little critical, I confess to finding myself a tad disappointed at the lack of originality.

Simon cuts and stitches the very best of many West End Show styles into his direction and it is a consummate dish of high production values but, for me at least, it does lack that traditional ad-lib feel associated with panto, when improvisation is as much a part of the comedy as scripted dialogue. The show is so well-crafted, the opportunity to go 'off-piste' is limited.

That dash of originality would not go amiss - there's a feel of a lot that's borrowed. But I'm not going to get too blue over that and I acknowledge I could be seen to be being too picky!

It's definitely a hugely enjoyable night out and tremendous praise is due, as always, to Basildon and its council for setting such high standards and providing a much-loved and highly valued theatre for its local and wider south-Essex community.