I f you thought the panto season was over, then think again. The excitement of Christmas may be a distant memory already but there is something to be said of taking the family to see a local traditional pantomime during the dreary month of January – it's an uplifting experience that even the snow and rain can't ruin.

Much has been made of the return of professional pantomime to the venue this Christmas, after a gap of six years, but The Sevenoaks Entertainers have been staging their pantos at The Stag, in its various forms, every year since 1990.

This year, director Rebecca Miles has chosen Robin Hood And His Merry Men. It's not one of the traditional choices but Rebecca explains the decision was based on the plays' appeal to a male audience.

The main story is, of course, the romance between Robin Hood and Maid Marion but this show focuses heavily on the camaraderie between the Merry Men and on the fight against the main baddies, the Sheriff Of Nottingham and King John.

"Last year we did Cinderella," says Rebecca. "And it was quite a girlie panto, so we wanted to do one that would appeal to boys. Not that it doesn't have anything to keep girls interested. It's got Maid Marion and has its girlie moments but we wanted it to be different from last year."

This is Rebecca's first outing as a director, having been a member of the Entertainers for more than 10 years. She started off as a dancer there and, as her love of the stage, she became a dance teacher.

"I was given the opportunity to direct this show so I jumped at it," says Rebecca. "It's going really well. I'm really lucky because I have a strong cast and I've got a really funny and up-to-date script."

With an entire cast of around 70 people, it can't be easy for Rebecca to keep control of rehearsals and make herself heard, especially as a first time director, but she says her experience as a dance teacher is proving useful and to get attention, she resorts to using her 'teacher voice'.

Following the big professional production of Dick Whittington, you'd be forgiven thinking another panto at The Stag so soon is overkill but local pantomime is really a different animal altogether. As Rebecca points out, they are able to personalise it to the area a lot more than the big shows.

"Because we know the area so well, we're able to put in little in-jokes especially for Sevenoaks. The only challenge has been trying to make sure people remember ours is on and that it's at the end of January."

With the big freeze which has kept us shut away indoors for the past few weeks hopefully at an end, the panto is coming at just the right time to catch audiences coming out of hibernation.

"Sevenoaks audiences are usually really good, really up for it," says Rebecca.

So consider yourselves reminded that there is still time to book tickets for this fun family show. The panto has all the usual boos and hisses and, to top it off, it includes some big chorus numbers with songs from Hairspray, Mary Poppins and Mamma Mia.

January 28 to 31 Evenings (Thursday and Friday at 7.30pm, Saturday at 6.30pm) Matinees (Saturday at 1.30pm, Sunday at midday and 4.30pm) Tickets from £8.50 to £10.50 from the box office on 01732 450175