OH yes it is - York Theatre Royal's panto at the National Railway Museum is proving a huge hit with audiences!

The theatre says it’s had an ‘overwhelming' response to Dick Whittington (and his meerkat), with hundreds of emails, phone calls, letters and posts on social media already - the largest response it has ever received for a panto.

One theatregoer, Ronald Smith, told theatre staff: “Wow! It was fantastic. In fact, words fail me in trying to describe it. It was out of this world. There are not enough superlatives.”

Another, Peter Dearden from Southport, said: “It is a week since I made my annual visit to the panto and I am still grinning....An undoubted triumph and quite memorable."

A third, Geoff Walker of Fulford, said: "The truly imaginative way in which this year's performance was presented; the excellent acting, singing and dancing and the superb slick work of all the stage hands made this a brilliant enjoyable evening."

A theatre spokesman said that when archaeological discoveries at York Theatre Royal’s historic site in St. Leonard’s Place led to the annual pantomime changing venue, people asked how it would cope with the relocation from a traditional proscenium arch theatre to a 1,000 seat traverse auditorium in the The Signal Box Theatre in the NRM grounds.

But there had been a 'fantastic' public response, which had also been reflected in ticket sales, with audiences of almost 1,000 packing out the venue during the busy Christmas holidays.

Theatre visitor services manager Kaeli Wishart said: "We are hugely proud of the show. It makes it all the more rewarding to know that the audiences have loved it as much as we do."

Theatre chief executive Liz Wilson said: "We are incredibly pleased with the audience response and the messages we have received over the course of the run and thank everyone who has shown us such valuable support in this extraordinary year."

The panto runs until next Sunday, January 24, with tickets available from the theatre box office, by phoning 01904 623568 or going to yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Meanwhile, panto cast members have visited production sponsors Viewpoint Opticians to thank it for its support - and try out some glasses for size. Managing director Trevor Rowley said he had been attending the pantomime since 1989 and decided that sponsoring it through his business would be the most effective way of assisting the theatre.