THE start of the Christmas countdown can only mean one thing in theatreland - oh yes it can, panto season is well and truly here. And for Gloucestershire, Cheltenham Everyman’s 2014 production of Sleeping Beauty has opened for a rip-roaring run of silliness, slapstick and the kind of good old family fun we Brits all know and love.

Tweedy the Clown returns as the comic jester now so well entrenched in Cheltenham's show of capers and chaos and he doesn’t disappoint. Appearing around the theatre before curtains up, dragging his pet iron behind him, Tweedy gets everyone in the mood with gags aplenty, his infamous ladder-climbing routine and crazy cake baking sketches alongside dame Nanny Nice Hands, played again this year by the wonderfully over-the-top William Elliot. The pair have perfected their familiar scenes bouncing off each other with ad-libbed lines and occasionally bursting into fits of giggles at their own ridiculous costumes, water fights and foam pie-throwing madness. Both are so intrinsically linked with this charming pantomime, it simply wouldn’t be the same without them.

The fair Princess Aurora is sweetly played by Eleanor Brown, who pricks her finger on a spinning wheel tricked by the nasty Fairy Hysteria, who Joanne Heywood brings to life with wicked cackles and dramatic twists of her elaborate cape.

Kelli Maybank again takes on the role of the dashing prince who of course saves the day and rescues the damsel in distress, with assistance from Fairy Snow (Wendy Abrahams) and The King (Adam Price).

The traditional fairytale has undergone some modernisation, with a sing-a-long version of the smash hit Let It Go, from the film of the moment Frozen, as well as hit tunes All About the Bass, Pharrell Williams’ Happy, Sam Smith’s Stay With Me and The Lion King’s Circle of Life.

A troupe of talented young dancers from the Janet Marshall Dance Studios give the show great energy and the addition of some cute kids plucked from the audience in the second half means this year’s offering has all the ingredients for the perfect family panto to get everyone into the Christmas spirit.

Sleeping Beauty is on at the Cheltenham Everyman now until January 11.