Beauty and her Wee Beastie win over a Lymm Panto virgin

DESPITE a history going back more than three decades I recently had the honour of being a “virgin” at the world famous Lymm Panto.

Creator Simon Plumb has been hounding me for many years to attend the annual event which packs out Lymm Rugby Club each year, helping raise thousands of pounds for the club’s grassroots appeal – last year’s event raised over £30,000.

I was one of the few virgins in the sell out crowd of 200 for the opening night of his latest creation “Beauty and her Wee Beastie” and soon realised what I had been missing out on for the past 31 years!

Having now seen the Lymm Panto “in the flesh” I can only say I wish I had listened to Simon a little sooner as I am sure I have missed many fun nights over the years.

Strictly for over 18s it is not for the faint-hearted but is certainly slapstick traditional fun of the highest calibre, which will have you in stitches pretty much from start to finish.

With rugby players past and present making up the backbone of the cast, there is certainly plenty of bare faced cheek!

Simon himself is never far from centre stage and during the interval dusts down his old friends Charlie and Little Jimmy to provide a barrel full of laughs, as the “worst ventriloquist” in the world.

Being the opening night there were some forgotten lines and gaffs – but these seemed to add to the humour and fun.

I left making a mental note that I must return next year and take along some other Lymm panto virgins to see what they have been missing out on.

But I will need to book my tickets early as it is sure to be another sell out success.

I obviously can’t compare my experience to any other, as I have never experienced anything quite like it before. But it didn’t take me long to realise I would be back for more.

It is the perfect start to the festive season and by the end of the show most of the audience were on their feet singing along to some classics from the 70s and 80s.

One word of warning, if you sit near the front remember the rugby players don’t shy away from hiding their modesty and there are also plenty of rain warnings!!