The theatre goes dark and hundreds of excited children started screaming. A green pool of light fills the stage and the screams turn to booing - it can only mean one thing, it is panto time.

The show is Dick Whittington, and while there is a character called Dick who goes to London to seek his fortune, the plot bears little resemblance to the traditional tale.

But that doesn’t matter one bit. Because instead you get a Chuckle brothers-inspired decorating scene, some underwater singing with a giant shark and the YMCA.

There were plenty of jokes for all ages – from the three-year-old sat to my left, to the almost 40-year-old to my right.

One of the funniest scenes is a slapstick song and dance routine that must have taken a lot of rehearsing.

The silliness increased as the song went on, and the unplanned bits (at least I think they were unplanned) just made everyone laugh even harder.

Dick Whittington is played by West End star Ray Quinn. He is everything a panto hero should be - charming, romantic and witty.

Steven Serlin as King Rat made a great villain - the sort that everyone loves to hate (the booing at the start was for him). He spoke in rhyme and insulted the audience a lot.

But it was definitely Joe Tracini as Idle Jack who stole the show. He was sarcastic, a bit silly and very funny.

Joe and Ian Good, who played his mum Sarah the Cook, made a great comedy duo. One of the best scenes was an argument between the pair, when all of Jack’s retorts came in the form of lines from hit songs he ‘played’ on a cassette tape.

It was the sort of thing that could have gone very wrong if the music wasn’t played at the right moment– but it didn’t, it was timed brilliantly and got a huge applause.

I know pantos are meant for kids but I loved the show and so did my son. This is what he had to say: “I liked the baddie because at the end he was going to be good. My favourite bit was the dance when the funny man’s hair kept falling off and they kept hitting his bottom.

“I also liked the bit at the end when the cat bit the baddie’s tail and it went crunch.”

Dick Whittington is at The Central Theatre until December 31. Sammi the Sheep Saves Christmas is on until December 24. To book tickets, call 01634 338338 or visit tickets.medway.gov.uk/thecentraltheatre or tickets.medway.gov.uk/thebrooktheatre