President Vladimir Putin may have his eyes on years more at the top.
But his ambition is a snowflake in the wind to the avalanche that is Countess Grimallova's evil scheming.

Janet Greaves' baddie plots her way towards the throne in a panto set in the atmospheric snowbound forests and castles of Russia.

Grimallova is the scariest thing in this panto. Clad in black, lit by sickly green, she expounds her plans to boos and hisses.

Not that the catcalls bother her - she likes boos at Christmas and often gets hissed (boomski, boomski!)

Her evil plan is to marry off one of her daughters to Prince Charminsky and then have him run over by "three-horse troika".

Good plan, Countess, except your daughters are a hairy Welsh bloke in a pink nightie and slippers and a hairier Scottish bloke with a DIY fixation.

They deliver most of the many laughs in this excellent production which tempers slapstick with a tender love story and moving songs.

Gladys Glasnost, played by Gregory Ashton, complains in a broad Welsh accent to Ben Fleetwood Smyth's dapper prince that she turned down Michael Douglas for him.

Prudence Perestroika (Ben Watson), the other one the prince must avoid, is a muscular sort with ginger hair, a kilt and a tool belt where her sporran should be.

The slick timing of the duo and their scheming mother, who has a touch of the Miranda Richardsons about her performance, makes for big laughs.

Their interaction with the audience includes trying to escape the guards at the end of the tale straight into one of the neat little theatre's boxes.

The title role is played by feisty Jodie Kumble with a fair dollop of tomboy charm and a smattering of modern lingo for the kids. Every Cinders must have her buttons, and Joe Evans handles smoothly the most important part of the role - interacting with the kids in the audience.

Away from the high jinks of the comedy cast members, the prince, Cinders and Angelika (Johanne Murdock), an old peasant and a fairy godmother rolled into one, weave a tale of love and duty amid the snow.

There are some excellent songs and an atmospheric set, complete with projected snowy owl that flits across the forest.

It all makes for a panto with a bit more heart than many of the brash shiny pieces of theatre, stuffed with former soap stars and minor celebs, that grace some stages at this time of year.