A truly British gem, where else in the world would you see a show where men dress as women and women dress as men to a backdrop of risque gags and then pass it all off as children's entertainment?

But all the above boxes were ticked - and more besides - as the Civic kicked off its seasonal run, former Brookside star Louis Emerick this year's top billing in the traditional tale of Dick Whittington.

The Last of The Summer Wine star excelled as the villain of the piece in his role as King Rat but was matched by the comic interchanges provided by Sarah The Cook (Danny Jay) - who has obviously been studying Little Britain's Matt Lucas - and ventriloquist Naughty Nigel Harvey who delivered some topical, some corny and some innuendo laden gags to an appreciative audience of kids and adults alike with his puppet pals Ben and Sox.

The Civic shows have come in for some flak in recent years but this year's show has got all it takes to keep all ages entertained - songs, dance, glitzy costumes and enough humour and slapstick to keep things ticking over nicely for two hours or so. Oh, and plenty of thigh-
slapping and shouts of "it's behind you!" and "oh yes it is."

The kids loved the silliness and daft gags from Harvey while adults could revel in the topical material (stuff about Woolworths, Amy Winehouse and Gordon Brown) and local asides about Stainforth and Barnsley FC.

There was even a gag about Girls Aloud which managed to draw shocked gasps from the audience - but I'll not spoil it for you if you are planning on going along.

There were a few sticky moments - fluffed lines and slip-ups - but the cast coped admirably and delivered an enjoyable and entertaining show which sent everyone home happy.