The Elizabethan Centre Dramatic Society's portrayal of the famous tale starts tonight at Whaplode Drove.

Jack and the Beanstalk was the group's first production 24 years ago but everything about this latest show is new – except for Buttercup the Cow.

Over the years Whaplode Drove has built a reputation for good family entertainment.

Jack and the Beanstalk tells how the whole country is hard up because a giant and his sidekick – wicked witch Poison Ivy – demand all the money and seize beautiful Princess Rose and Buttercup the cow.

But Jack, with the help of Fairy Beansprout and his mother Dame Trott, set out to rescue them from the giant's clutches.

Thrill, spills, music and laughter guarantee to have audiences singing and laughing away those credit crunch blues.

Jack is played by Samantha Hunt, with Jonathan Tibbs as Dame Trott, Mandie Collier as Poison Ivy and the voice of the giant supplied by Phil Bosworth.

The panto is at the Elizabethan Centre today, tomorrow and Saturday at 7.30pm with a matinee on Saturday at 2.30pm.

Tickets (£7 for adults, £5 concessions or family ticket (two adults and two children £20) are available by calling 0784 761 9726, from Whaplode Drove Post Office or on the door.