Giles Woodforde enjoys his first panto of the season: Robin Hood at The Theatre, Chipping Norton

I’m a poor, defenceless female, and a damsel in distress,” wails Dame Connie Clatterbottom piteously. Yes, the panto season has arrived, and as ever the Chippy Panto is the first to open locally.

This year it’s Robin Hood, with Chippy sticking closely to the traditional tale of the outlaw and his band of Merry Men as they battle the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Director Abigail Anderson moves the story along briskly as Robin (Scott Ellis, in a strong performance) is joined by feisty Maid Marion (Madeleine Leslay), and Friar Tuck (Ben Eagle): “Oooh, I do fancy a steak,” he says while marooned in the middle of Sherwood Forest, “My vow of abstinence was taken ages ago”.

Also present are itinerant musician Alan-a-Dale (Sam O’Hanlon), and, in a fashionable gender swap, fellow outlaw Little John is forceful Little Joan (Rosanna Lambe).

Robin’s gang is completed by a splendid comedy duo of puppet rabbits who plainly learnt their trade from watching Muppet videos as bunny youngsters.

Andrew Piper’s Sheriff of Nottingham is interesting. He’s no sneering baddie like Alan Rickman in the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Instead, he comes over as a self-important politician – or even a newspaper columnist: “Have you any idea who I am?” he thunders pompously on his first appearance.

Obviously a snob, who bullies his servant Dennis (Samuel Dutton), he treats two washerwomen with contempt. This is a mistake, involving the splashing about of much soap and water.

The Sheriff duly gets his comeuppance, and the consequent mayhem enables writer Ben Crocker to incorporate plenty of panto ingredients into his script. Vital, of course, is Dame Connie, a tall, friendly lady, who looks gorgeous, courtesy of Emily Stuart’s costume designs. She is a teacher but – in a classroom scene that will delight to school-age audiences – it is apparent she has zero skills in teaching maths. It’s his first appearance in panto frocks, but Andrew Pepper takes to this Dame role like a duck to water.

Music is the hands of regular composer Sarah Travis. As always, there are expertly crafted songs, with We Are Outlaws memorable. On press night, the cast seemed a mite hard pressed to fit their words into the musical spaces, but that’s a quibble to doubtless be sorted.

This Robin Hood is colourful fun, excellent storytelling, and a fine addition to Chippy’s unique panto tradition.

4/5

* Robin Hood continues until Sunday, January 10.