Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs @ King George’s Hall, Blackburn

1:52pm Thursday 13th December 2007

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THE packed auditorium filled with schoolchildren was buzzing even before the lights went down at the opening show of the panto at Blackburn's King George's Hall.

And the kids weren't disappointed. This year's Christmas production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the most entertaining the theatre has put on in years.

From the high-octane opening in which Snow White (actress Hannah Telford) took to the stage with a stirring rendition of Kylie Minogue's On A Night Like This the energy level never dropped.

As usual the star of the show - the one who got the longest laughs and the biggest cheer at the end - was comedian Phil Walker playing "Big Bad Ben".

In his sixth year as Blackburn's panto star, Walker showed he hadn't lost that rare ability that keeps the audiences coming back to Blackburn - knowing what makes kids laugh.

The kids sitting behind me literally shrieked with joy when Phil singled out their teacher, Miss Burn, for attention, asking her on a date and saying he fancied her.

Scott Campbell, playing The Wicked Queen was also in fine form, a true baddie with some truly frightening facial expressions and a great impression of Janice Dickinson ("Aww maaan").

Bryan Robert Reid lent some kudos with a voice powerful enough to give any West End lead a run for their money.

This year the panto was given an extra boost with current pop songs and topical references to I'm A Celebrity and X Factor.

The kids enjoyed singing along to YMCA, the Proclaimer's I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles), and Mika's Big Girl (You Are Beautiful).

Perhaps it was the pop songs, the spectacular costumes or the impressive acrobatics by Shizzy And Mizzy the "Dynamic juggling dug", but this year's panto seemed to have that extra edge.

Panto is one of the great traditions of Christmas and the hundreds of young voices screaming their approval as the curtain came down shows that, in Blackburn at least, it's as popular today as ever.