BMDS PANTOMIME -- THE MAGIC KEY -- CITY HALL, DECEMBER 9 TO 18 The magic key to a successful pantomime is audience participation -- last night at City Hall the audience were exhausted when it was all over.

Everything about "The Magic Key'' is great and everyone from the smallest child in the packed theatre to the most important members of the cast seemed to be enjoying themselves. That's what it's all about.

Author Christine Barritt and Director Jane McCulloch produced the right blend of comedy and music to keep every fidgety little mite amused.

But this pantomime is not just aimed at the young ones, there was plenty of amusement for the adults in the audience.

Barritt has taken influences from Russian folk tales to set her story in Imperial Russia but there are plenty of modern influences, particularly in the music, which ranges from 20s jazz to modern soca.

While Russian forests and castles are the main theme there are plenty of "Bermudianisms'' in there too.

The main Bermuda character is Boris the Bear, played by Ed Christopher. For the part of a Siberian bear Christopher's dialogue is abounding with Bermuda-speak and he stole the early part of the show.

Both his hilarious street-wise actions and his words made him a success as soon as he appeared on the stage.

Surprisingly his scene-stealing was overshadowed with the appearance of Keith Madeiros with a mistress-ful performance as the Czarina. Madeiros camped it up like the best of the pantomime dames.

The best double act of the evening was the evil Morgana, played by Connie Dey, and Morfin, played by Edmund Robinson. Their evil rendition of "A Pair Like Us'' was one of the musical highlights.

But the whole cast is part of this production and there are some terrific group performances by the young dancers involved in the show.

Pantomime is notorious for children in the audience playing a part in the collapse of an actor in full gush, but last night the only real interruption was a loud sneeze which was noticed but did not affect the flow of the performance on stage.

The first thing you notice about "The Magic Key'' is the stunning colour.

BMDS have really gone to town in giving this production the truly glorious spirit of Christmas.

And the scenery, necessitating a lot of quick changes, is excellent despite limited space on the City Hall stage. It swings from the Czarina's Palace in Moscow to the Enchanted Forest, and its talking trees, to the Castle of Evil, where the gargoyles live.

There are also some ingenious special effects providing quick and clever costume changes.

While many of the songs are written for the pantomime there are a couple of well-known popular tunes in there too. "Hot, Hot, Hot' was obviously well received but the audience really got into the swing of things with the final "Shout!'' That old rocker certainly left one or two folk with sore hands at the end.

There are still tickets left for those folks who fear Imperial Russia may be a cold place at Christmas -- but a little Magic Key can make things hot, hot, hot! ALAN WRIGHT.