Once upon a time there was a young lad wanting to make his fortune who moved away from Bala and headed for Llangollen where the streets are paved with gold.
There he meets an interesting group of people - some bad and some good - acquires a cat and a bride and ends up as the town mayor.
If that sounds a bit familiar it's because it's Llangollen Pantomime Group's rather clever and very enjoyable version of the classic Dick Whittington with which they're currently wowing audiences at the Town Hall until Sunday.
A cast of around 40, all buzzing with enthusiasm, plus an equally lively six-strong band, breathe life into another witty tailor-made script by David Lyne who has been masterminding the group's productions for some years now and in this one also appears on stage as the narrator and a drunken pink-clad fairy named The Spirit of the Bells.
Apart from all that he also does a rather splendid job as the director, while Samantha Fletcher is producer of the piece.
Young Austin Forkin takes on the title role, which fits him like glove thanks to his formidable acting and singing abilities.
His love interest, Alice Fitzwarren, daughter of the town mayor who Dick will one day succeed, is played by the talented Elsie Bottomley-Davies. And just to show what a family affair this show always is, Niki Bottomley-Davies takes on the role of her stage mum Beatrice Fitzwarren, with aplomb.
Bringing a rather bon French accent and considerable acting reserve to bear as the dame, Madame Souffle, is Jordan Lane, while Steve Hughes also deploys a useful eastern European accent to create a delicious baddie named Catcha Catta Polski. Another neat baddie and cruel two-timer of Alice is Noah Thomas as Jack Flirter.
Dick's loveable cat, who displays some very nifty dance moves, is played by Orla Rees-Jones.
The script has plenty of references to Llangollen and goes even further by doing homage to one of its foremost firms and panto backers, Bearded Men Adventures, in the form of a large chorus of kids wearing false whiskers.
The whole thing has plenty of laughs and double entendres along with lots of songs which match the action.
Sets are minimal but brilliant and colourful costumes are a credit to their home-grown makers.
* There's another show tonight (Friday), two tomorrow (Saturday) including a matinee and another matinee on Sunday.
Tickets: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/llangollenpanto
* ... and Polksi wth his own love interest Madame Souffle.
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