Dick Whittington, Collingwood RSC & Nelson ADSHMS, HMS Nelson, Portsmouth

ON a raw evening in Portsmouth, an enthusiastic audience was warmed by some traditional panto entertainment, complete with wonky sets, raucous backstage badinage and improvised one-liners.

Robin Sheppard as the dame was hardworking and charismatic with assured stage presence. Phil Wheadon as "her" policeman son was endearing, displaying some adroit comic timing.

However, many of the vocalists, singing to backing tapes, were frequently and excruciatingly out of tune and out of time, much of the acting was wooden and the dancing pedestrian.

Sharon Taylor as Malibu brought some much-needed panache and elan to the second act and Alisa Goram was convincingly feline as Dick's faithful cat, Puss.

Amateur dramatics should strive for professionalism. Replacing microphone batteries in full view of the audience as act two was about to start, when the job should have been done during the interval, is amateurish.

And even the half-time coffee was cold.