The appeal of pantomime is a difficult thing to explain to those who haven’t grown up with it. The same few stories, featuring the same jokes, often performed by the same people, year after year – and yet, against all odds, the beloved festive tradition endures, pulling in audiences of all ages across the UK every Christmas.

In Luke Adamson’s Oh No It Isn’t! we’re taken behind the scenes of one such pantomime, in which a well-worn duo, Mr Worth (Bryan Pilkington) and Mr Chancery (Matthew Parker), return to play the Ugly Sisters in this year’s production of Cinderella. It’s the last night of the run, and it’s fair to say the two men have pretty much had enough of each other, and of their tired double act. And yet the audience – both in the story and in reality – still laugh every time they dance to Right Said Fred, make weak, innuendo-laden jokes at each other’s expense, or lead us in a traditional (and, as it turns out, eventful) group sing-along.

The pair are – at least at first – a well-oiled machine on stage, but behind the scenes things are very different. While Mr Chancery views this opportunity as very much just a job to pay the bills before moving on to something better, for Mr Worth it means a great deal more, for reasons that only become clear in the latter stages of the 65-minute show. And as that story unfolds, what started out as a laugh-a-minute comedy about two panto dames at war becomes something much deeper and more tragic.

Like their characters, Matthew Parker and Bryan Pilkington are a great double act, giving us wonderful physical comedy in the on-stage scenes, and creating a delicious tension in their interactions backstage. Luke Adamson’s efficient dialogue makes references to their shared past, but resists the temptation to get into exposition-heavy exchanges, which leaves room for plenty of nice long awkward silences as the two don a series of increasingly outlandish costumes (designed by Martin J Robinson). The play is written based largely on Adamson’s own experiences – like Mr Worth, he performed in his first pantomine at the age of nine – and there’s a distinct ring of authenticity in its portrayal of the theatre industry with all its ups and downs.

Set designer Karl Swinyard has packed every inch of the Jack’s stage with the trappings of panto – costumes, wigs, props and posters – and the result is a beautiful burst of colour; like panto itself, it’s a perfect antidote to the grey drizzle outside. Under Kate Bannister’s ever skilful direction, the action moves seamlessly from dressing room to stage, with just the pushing aside of a costume rack and a quick burst of stage lights. The result is a tightly run show that’s over before you know it, but which seems to pack a huge amount of material and detail into that short running time.

Simultaneously a celebration of all things panto and a sobering insight into the cut-throat nature of the theatre industry, Oh No It Isn’t! offers something slightly different to the usual festive offerings – and feels all the richer for it.

Oh No It Isn’t! continues at the Jack Studio Theatre until 6th January 2024.