Do not for a minute be misled. This is not the Peter Pan by JM Barrie that you think you know. It is certainly not the version that recently made the National Theatre's top 100 plays of the century. That is an entirely different Peter Pan, one full of regret for childhood lost forever and the terrible pain of growing up without a mother. The Peter Pan on display here has no wistful vulnerability, he - or I should say she - is a close relation of the Milky Bar Kid and all those bright-as-a-button TV-advertising moppets. This Peter could off-load soap powder by the cartload.

But there is no denying that this panto version does have a certain charm, even if it mostly resides in the antics of the crocodile, the cutest little beast to have hit our consciousness since the Beeb's Walking With Dinosaurs. It is complete with lovely costumes, olde worlde sets that make Edwardian London look like a dead ringer for the market square at Chessington World of Adventures, a roller-skating Tinkerbell and lots of nicely behaved performing children.

There are some silly moments. Even the three-year-old next to me could see that Peter Pan does have a shadow when he says he's lost it (sort out that lighting, folks) and the bit of audience participation with children from the stalls is like Kids Say the Cutest Things only more insulting to everyone's intelligence, particularly the children.

But this is a really slick and professional show that in its own way has enough magic to create a memory for any child. If Leslie Grantham's Captain Hook isn't nearly villainous enough, Bonnie Langford proves why she's the best panto principal boy ever, playing to the gallery and bringing an irrepressible spirit and acrobatic flying to Peter. Please God, may Bonnie Langford never grow too old to be a principal boy and can I always believe in fairies.

• Till January 23. Box office: 0181 540 0362.

***** Unmissable **** Recommended *** Enjoyable ** Mediocre * Terrible