The Playhouse always sets the bar high when it comes to festive family fun, so we arrived for this year's pantomime with high expectations. It did not disappoint.

All the right elements were there and more: jokes so bad they were good; sing-a-longs; fantastic set illustrations by Korky Paul and a cast that worked their socks off to get the audience going. In this, a special mention must be made of the superb Dame, Widow Twanky, who played everyone's favourite part with real oomph.

From the feisty feminist princess Perfect Rose to the wannabee rapstar Aladdin and the woefully misunderstood villain, Abanazar, the stage was a riot of character, dance and song.

You all know the story – I won't repeat it and anyway, in the time honoured tradition of pantomime, the plot of the story was subsumed by 'he's behind you!', 'boooo!' and 'oh no you didn'ts'. This Aladdin was set in the austerity hit city of Ox-a-for, complete with a recognisable High Street. A pantomime at its best should have enough contemporary references to please the grown ups in the audience and Aladdin hit the mark. Being Oxfordshire, it could hardly avoid mention of our most high profile MP and any porkies in his past. The poverty struck population are taxed to the hilt by the Emperor and controlled to the point that they may not look at his beautiful daughter, the princess Perfect Rose. The princess bursts onto stage with a broad Glaswegian, 'That's just stupit!'. Whoever cast Kiran Sonia Sawar got it just right. Her gutsy swagger turned the traditional helpless princess who all too often still simper onto the pantomime stage on its head.

Beneath the plot of the Princess and Aladdin (and perhaps only equalled by their stunning flight on a magic carpet) ran the sub-plot of love lost between the Genie of the Lamp and the Spirit of the Ring, which added a surprising depth to the production. The Spirit of the Lamp, played by Rochelle Rose, really stole the show with her rhyming advice to Abanazar, superb singing voice and stage presence.

The family verdict:

2 year old: danced and bopped her way through the show, pausing only to throw ice cream down her leg. Loved it!

5 year old: 'It was splendiforous! Very funny and brilliant.'

The Playhouse's panto this year is a fine re-imagining of Aladdin that re-locates the ancient fable to Oxford.

This being a Playhouse panto, it's naturally a skewed version of Oxford that surreally blends elements of our city with the People's Republic of China; it sort of makes sense when you see it.

Set in the modern day, this is roughly 2/3 Aladdin as fable lover's know it, part panto frippery, part contemporary in joke. There is one satirical nod to the Disney version, but the rest of it is entirely the work of razor sharp writer director Steve Marmion.

This is still the story of a boy called Aladdin, the magic lamp that comes into his possession, and the genie it contains. There's still a princess who Aladdin falls in love with (here called Rose), a villain called Abanazer and – this being the panto version – a mother for Aladdin called Widow Twankey.

The difference is that these versions of the characters talk about Summertown and how hard it is to get a parking space in Oxford. They also sing along to Kate Bush and dance to Salt N Peppa.

The cast is great, especially Nigel Betts, whose panto dame makes multiple references to Cleethorpes and delivers her lines in a rich Northern accent. There are also some genuinely amazing special effects.

It is very funny, hugely energetic, and delivers exactly the kind of seasonal kick that you would expect from a quality panto. It also pares down the panto clichés to a bearable level – 'He's behind you' and 'Oh no it isn't' are used only once – which proves it's a cracking script and a well-chosen soundtrack that really deliver the goods.