After taking a year out, one of the great traditions of Christmas has returned to Welwyn Garden City – Oh, Yes It Has! – and, despite its title, it’s set to raise the roof.

In case you haven’t guessed, it’s panto time again and this year’s spectacular show is Sleeping Beauty. The new production is a traditional pantomime with a full cast, sumptuous sets, songs, jokes and lots of theatrical magic. And the action won’t stop on stage, as there is a very special surprise planned for the interval...

Rehearsals are going well, with Nick Collett showing off a variety of outrageous costumes as Dame Kitty La Quiche and local husband-and-wife team Helen Crosse and Michael Totton playing opposite sides as the evil fairy Carabosse and friendly simpleton Welwyn Willie respectively. Laura Wickham provides a beautiful singing voice to match her stunning looks and Hayden Wood’s Prince Ivan is all set to save the day.

General manager Mark Woolman said: “I’ve always wanted to do our own version of Sleeping Beauty. Because it’s not as well-known as some other pantos, you can have more fun with it – but rest assured, it’ll still very definitely be a panto, with a villain to boo, a fairy to cheer, and a thigh-slapping hero!”

The show opens on December 15 for schools performances and runs through to Saturday January 3. Some shows – including the special, ruder over-18s performance – are already sold out but there are still tickets available if you want to go and boo the baddies and cheer the goodies!