HERE’S the the Old Court Blackadder company reunited one last time to raise funds for J’s Hospice.

A merry Christmas jape, with the story of Ebenezer’s conversion wrapped around the Amy and Amiability episode from series three.

Scene changes are always going to present a challenge – Mozart, parlour music and Silent Night are rolled out to cover. Especially successful was the virtue-of-necessity carol just before the delayed denouement.

Flying squirrels, mulled wine by the hearth in the foyer, two convivial intervals and a double helping of classic comedy make this an ideal panto alternative.

MICHAEL GRAY