CINDERELLA may be the most regularly performed pantomime in pantoland, but not so at York Theatre Royal, where Dame Berwick Kaler laments its lack of an out-and-out dame's role.

Instead he is consigned to a sibling partnership of Ugly Sisters, and so Cinderella is not his favourite show. Consequently, his stalwart companions in Theatre Royal pantos, Suzy Cooper and David Leonard, are making only their third and second appearance in Cinderella respectively this winter.

"I missed one Cinderella when I was doing Guy And Dolls, and the one time I did it, I played the Baroness and the Baron, as I am this time too," says David. "Playing Cinderella for the third time, I'm ageing incrementally," says Suzy. "She's the best Cinderella ever," rejoins David.

This season's pantomime requires David and Suzy to adjust to the absence of fellow regular Martin Barrass, whose recuperation from a life-threatening motorcycle accident ruled him out of playing an Ugly Sister.

"It's a great shame that Martin couldn't do the show, but there's still so much to see in it; it's very beautifully designed by Mark Walters, AJ [Powell] is doing a wonderful job as Ugly Sister Priscilla, and Berwick has written a very smart, witty script," says Suzy.

"Berwick has written it as a narratively strong show and Damian [director Damian Cruden] has really homed in on that," says David. "It's a first for us this time too, as Damian has completely directed the show, leaving Berwick to concentrate on the script and his own performance – and it's the best panto for Damian to direct because he's a narrative-driven director."

Cinderella also marks the return of the York Theatre Royal pantomime to a refurbished and reconfigured main house after the theatre's year in residence at the National Railway Museum, where Dick Whittington And His Meerkat provided a unique pantomime experience on the rail tracks of the Signal Box Theatre.

Designer Mark Walters has combined a traditional, dazzling Cinderalla set with "big, bold, almost operatic costumes" – David's description – for a show that shares one characteristic with the one-off NRM show.

"I do like the intimacy of the new auditorium, which was a feature of Dick Whittington too, but as much as we enjoyed playing that space last time, we've been looking forward to being back in the theatre, because the Theatre Royal means so much to us," says David.

"The bar has risen from that experience of playing the Signal Box," says Suzy. "We hope that we can bring into this show how we connected with people in the very direct way we did last year, but even in the more intimate space, the show still requires a heightened performance style to go with the narrative."

Suzy may be "incrementally ageing" as she returns to a Theatre Royal pantomime stage she has lit up for all but two years since her 1993-1994 debut, "but I'm always the butt of old-age jokes anyway," she says.

"One friend said to me, 'it must be wonderful playing Cinderella at 50', though I'm not 50 yet. It's just that like every year, we're suspending disbelief and asking the audience to stay with us on that journey!"

Cinderella runs at York Theatre Royal until January 28. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk