WHEN Abergavenny Pantomime Company director Jaci Brickley Clark picked up the A4b award for Production of the Year for Jack and the Beanstalk just a few weeks ago she was searingly honest about the company’s shortcomings.

“We’re not the best actors or singers in the world and our productions may not be the most polished or professional but we have tons of heart. We look out for each other and help each other and because of that we’re a bloody good company and I love working with every one of the cast,” she said.

And probably for just the same reasons audiences for the past eighty odd years have equally enjoyed packing the Borough Theatre for the company’s sell out performances.

For most, Abergavenny Pantomime Company have provided their a first taste of live theatre and now they are coming back with their children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren - so frankly they must be doing something right.

This year hasn’t been the easiest for APC - their normally slick publicity machines has fallen foul of the local crime wave and been hijacked by mindless vandals who have seen fit to waylay their banners and posters although to little avail as tickets are still at a premium and far from being buried, the company’s production of Treasure Island is once again delighting packed audiences at the Borough Theatre.

The large cast is led by Ken Jones as Dame Sallie Forth and pirate captain Long?John Silver - played of course by Snowy Clarke who has made a welcome return from his retirement at the Padstow Home for the Bewildered to rejoin the panto fold.

Able support is given by an albeit almost voice-less Andrew Fowler who bravely battled regardless on as Jim, Chelsea Viveash as Milly and Peter Holder as Squire Trelawney with some great cameos from Andrea?Marfell and Gracie Gething as Ringmaster and Ringlet, Jane Gilbert and Olivia Latheron as Plank and Mast, Axel Bawler as Billy Bones, Miranda Newsom as Polly the Parrot and of course Ken Watkins as Big Chief.

Packed to the gills with lively chorus numbers and well performed solos this is a show which is never in danger of taking itself too seriously and plays for every laugh going to the delight of young and old alike.

It gets the audience laughing from the very first line - not always for the right reasons - and they don’t stop until the final curtain and what more can you ask of a panto than that?

On a personal note it’s always fun on opening night to see if I can spot any of the lines I handed over to the company six months ago - I draw some comfort from the fact that the final script bears as much resemblance to my original one as that did to Robert Louis Stevenson’s!

In short Abergavenny Pantomime Company is community theatre at its very best - it welcomes everyone, nurtures talent and gives back to the community it comes from. If you’re looking for high drama then it’ll come as no surprise that you should probably give Treasure Island a miss but if you’re looking for a fun night out watching a group of people whose enthusiasm, integrity and sheer joie de vivre is infectious then try your best to pick up one of the few remaining tickets - you can’t fail to be entertained.