It’s been a tricky few months for the Orchard Theatre and, for a while, it looked like Dartford’s panto season could be cancelled.

However, the show must go on and somehow the team have managed to whip up the new Orchard West structure in a matter of weeks so that this year’s magical Beauty and the Beast production can go ahead.

While it is, essentially, a tent, the new temporary theatre - which cost £1.5 million to build and can seat around 1,000 people - is an impressive feat.

Once we stepped inside, it didn’t feel like a last-minute pop-up. With a bustling foyer, queues at the bar and kids excitedly buzzing around the merchandise stand, it felt like any normal theatre.

The auditorium is rather different from the Orchard Theatre - it’s smaller, plainer and the seats aren’t as comfortable, but considering that six weeks ago this building didn’t even exist the team have done a fantastic job.

This year’s panto stars EastEnders’ Shona McGarty as the delightful Belle alongside former soap star and Gravesend local Harry Reid as sidekick Silly Billy and Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalist John Archer as Belle’s father Maurice.

The show was jam-packed with jokes for the kids, and Harry Reid’s character was a particular hit with the young audience.

Perhaps due to the new theatre, the production felt more restricted than other years in terms of special effects and large-scale props, but Harry’s physical comedy, from the slapstick acrobatics routine to the hilarious jukebox section, helped bring it all to life.

Shona, who has played Whitney Dean in EastEnders for 15 years, also lit up the stage with her charming performance and incredible voice. It’s not often you get a soap star who can belt out a tune like that, but she truly wowed us with her singing.

The team still managed to inject plenty of fun into the show with the dancing ghosts, wolf puppets and audience participation, which involved an adorable seven-year-old girl getting up on stage and helping out with one of John’s tricks.

The sing-along music and colourful sets and costumes, including the stunning Beast outfit - how Connor Carson managed to sing in that, I’ll never know - also made the show really pop.

A special shout-out goes to Tom Senior, who played Flash Harry (based on the character of Gaston, which he has played in the London Palladium production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast) with just the right amount of camp villainy and charisma that a panto baddie needs.

It all ended with a good old-fashioned performance of If I Was Not in Pantomime filled with pratfalls, water buckets and total chaos - the perfect way to end the show.

Everyone filed out of the auditorium with huge grins on their faces and kids were still giggling even when the show was over.

It’s taken a lot of hard work and a sprinkling of Christmas magic but, against all odds, Dartford has pulled off a panto to be proud of this year.

Beauty and the Beast is at the Orchard West Theatre until New Year’s Eve. Tickets can be booked here.

You can also book by calling 03433 100033.