IT’S Clawsome... one of the best pantos of the past 20 years has hit the ‘Royal’ with a boom, boom kids, a right royal boom, boom, writes Paul Thomas.

Sleeping Beauty has got it all at Windsor’s Theatre Royal and even before curtain up the children throughout the audience were pitch perfect singing Let it go from Frozen as the live band struck up to get everyone in the mood.

This is proper panto with even the door staff to the auditorium clapping and getting everyone involved from before the off.

And it’s hats off to Steven Blakeley who not only plays Nurse Paloma Pinchme on stage, but also wrote the panto.

Hat’s off because it’s the best written festive funtime I have seen in years.

It keeps all of the traditional tit-bits, but comically is up to the minute and the songs and gags are as about as modern as they can be. In short, it suits us all.

From singing Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow by Fleetwood Mac to Let It Go from Frozen and YMCA and In The Navy from Village People, it only took Basil Brush as the Lord Chamberlain to perform a medley of Queen hits, We Will Rock You, with everyone stamping and clapping the beat, Don’t Stop Me Now and Bohemian Rhapsody to put his own supersonic fox monogram on the proceedings.

Famous Top of Pops presenter and former BBC Radio DJ Mike Read plays King Clifford of Windsornia, father of Beauty, aka Princess Aurora, played by Megan Jones who was lovely, and as he is playing a Cliff Richard role, fits in as many of the great rocker’s song titles as possible (I counted 13...can you do any better? I’d love to know).

Some great new stuff from this year such as Symphony by Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson alongside the theme from Ghostbusters and Castle on the Hill by Ed Sheeran are all great take-off...this is really good stuff and it all fits in with where we are.

Couple that with the dads and children pulled up from the audience and you find people from not just Windsor and Maidenhead, but Slough, Bracknell, Ascot and beyond.

This is a great night out with sweets, rotten eggs and water guns all going into the audience and for those of us who love old Hollywood a skit on 1940s Abbot and Costello’s who lives at that house, what lives there and I don’t know who’s in that one, was a blast from the past, but had the youngsters howling with laughter.

Add to that former Dr Who Tom Baker as the voice of the dragon being wrapped up in his famous scarf after a jaunt by Blakeley and fellow funnyman Kevin Cruise in a time machine doing back to the future and another skit on Marilyn Monroe’s birthday cake tribute to Us President John F Kennedy, and ther’s something for everyone.

The Chase’s Jenny Ryan was great as the baddie Carabosse and Alex Jordan-Mills as Prince Edgar, who sings Sheeran was delightful.

But, for those of us who love our funk and soul, Denise Pearson from 5 Star was electric.

She’s not on stage much, but when she is you feel the full force of her singing ability.

Bring on the boos and get into the groove for this great panto.

It’s traditional and modern with a great story to flesh out a timeless classic with great effects to bring out the dragon.

Ditch the tellybox and enjoy this year’s panto, you’ll go home smiling...happy Christmas!

Sleeping Beauty, Theatre Royal Windsor until January 7.

Box office: 01753 853888 or theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk