This has been quite a year for Cheltenham’s much-loved Everyman Theatre: the auditorium has undergone a vibrant refurbishment, and the theatre has just celebrated its 120th birthday. All that’s needed to complete the year is an equally vibrant panto.

Jack and the Beanstalk has been written and directed by Cheltenham regular Phil Clark, and from the very first yell of “I can’t hear you!” it’s obvious that he knows what he is doing. The show opens with a colourful Maypole dance, sung to Once A Year Day from The Pajama Game — considerable ingenuity has been shown in mixing the show’s varied musical menu with the storyline.

“I’m the Queen of the May,” announces Dame Trott (William Elliott, pictured) in an accent which suggests she comes from the poshest part of Edinburgh. An effervescent and spirited lady, she is nonetheless down on her luck and behind with the rent. Landlord Giant Blunderbore is already roaring from afar as his villainous, but fatally thick sidekick Fleshcreep (Zara Ramm, who whips up the boos very quickly) slimes into view, demanding money.

Luckily for Fleshcreep, Dame Trott’s son Billie (Daniel Whitley, excellent) is even thicker than she is: “My teacher said to me: ‘grow up, stupid’, so I did!” Fleshcreep therefore has no trouble in flogging her useless ‘magic’ beans to him. The result is particularly disastrous: Buttercup the Cow has to be sent to market to pay the rent, and this Buttercup (Chad Horton and Sarah Cunnington) is special. She dances most nimbly to Why Does The Brown Cow Give White Milk, and not every cow has that skill. In fact there’s lots of dance: choreographer Sue Colgrave even gets Giant Blunderbore (Chad Horton, doubling up) himself to take a twirl — and was that the twitch of a smile that I saw on his huge, hairy face? This bright and breezy panto fits the sparkling Everyman to a tee.

Until January 8. Box office: everymantheatre.org.uk or 01242 572573.