THIS much-loved Arabic folk tale was adapted, as in this instance there wasn’t quite 40 thieves, as a unicycling Sheikh Mustafa Leikh had already killed several thieves for misdemeanours.

When the audience was introduced to him, he was continuing to bump others off as the play progressed.

Those who were left, paraded singly across the stage with various beards, moustaches and grimaces, some looking suspiciously like the others.

As the Bishopswood audience laughed at Kamil, the shy, windy camel, they joined in songs, booed, hissed and shouted along.

The storytelling drew the audience into a madcap version of old Baghdad, with shadow puppetry, treasure hoards and cut-throats and put the audience through a range of emotions. There was a rooftop lightning storm and a smoke-filled resurrection of Frankenstein’s monster.

The central romance between Ali and Safiya was genuinely touching, the thieves and the selfish Sharon suitably wicked and Mum Baba raucously larger than life through her histrionics, frocks and wigs.

Surprising cameos included a wonderful rendition of Gilbert & Sullivan’s ‘Three Little Maids From School Are We’ which added to the delightful, organised chaos of the tale.

As ever, the production values were higher than most village hall productions and it was difficult to imagine the hall as anything else but a theatre.

With an array of stage lighting adding huge atmosphere, great live music, specially commissioned sets, the audience were welcomed by the lovely Panto team into a truly magical world.

Overall, the main star was the collective spirit. It’s obvious that the village has been creating, rehearsing, preparing, building and learning together to produce a wonderful celebration of creative storytelling.

The Bishopswood Pantomime is an object lesson in community building and collective joy and everyone felt privileged to be invited to be part of it.