It’s that time of year again. Families gathering together to put presents under the tree, enjoy each other’s company – and hurl foam rocks at dastardly pirates.

Wolverhampton’s panto season is now well under way with thousands of visitors young and old looking forward to seeing Peter Pan at the city’s Grand Theatre.

The traditional tale of swashbuckling, love and a fear of growing old has entertained and enchanted generations of panto lovers over the years. 

Wolverhampton’s production is as well-put together as anyone could wish for. From the cold rooftops of London to the lavish jungle kingdom of Neverland, the sets and costumes are a feast for the eyes. 

The effects, such as Tinkerbell’s green light show, are impressive. And with a story as enduring as that of the boy who never grows up, all the cast have to do is add their own special touches to make it a magical and memorable night out.

Household favourite Paul Nicholas plays Captain Hook. With his curly moustache and band of scoundrels, he makes a formidable villain who the kids (and some adults in the audience) of course took great pleasure in shouting insults at. 

Pan himself, played by Redditch schoolboy Jack Montgomery, is nimble enough,  dashing around the stage looking for his shadow before effortlessly gliding up, up and away.

The Krankies play The Smees. Well, that’s what it says in the programme. The Krankies really just play The Krankies. One lengthy scene consists of just the two of them on stage, bouncing off each other (quite literally, sometimes).

 It has nothing to do with the story and acts as a kind of second interval. They cover the whole spectrum of toilet humour jokes: Poop on the poop deck, a urinating mannequin, you get the idea. Some of the bluer jokes may have been a bit beyond the younger audience members, and for the older ones it did tend to wear a little thin. The Krankies have made a career out of getting these kinds of laughs and while they did bring it up to date with an eye-popping visual jab at Amy Winehouse, and gags about BBC vote rigging and John Sergeant, it felt like nothing that hadn’t been seen before. 

But what was pleasing to see is that the Scottish duo do seem to really be enjoying themselves even after all these years and children still genuinely connect with them, which is what really matters.

Some of the panto’s songs seemed a little dated, and the dance routines predictable.

But it didn’t stop the audience getting into the spirit of things, merrily bombarding Hook with hundreds upon hundreds of foam bricks right on cue.

One man in the audience, who was 70 going on seven, seemed to be wearing a grin throughout.Perhaps as a nation of panto lovers, we will never truly grow up.

* Peter Pan runs until January 25. 

By Mike Woods.