They’re in it for the long run and they’re determined to keep it up right to the end – the bawdy band who bring you Hitchin’s annual adult panto will be exposing themselves on stage tonight as this year’s show makes its debut.

This year the show is called Snow White and the Magnificent Seven, but fans will know that the title should only be taken as a loose indication of what’s going to be served up at the Market Theatre in Sun Street from now until May. Yes, May – it’s not for nothing that it claims to be the longest running panto in the world, and this year it’s going on even longer.

But while the nights are reserved for naughtiness, there’s also a charming show for children aged four to nine – Little Red Riding Hood opens on Saturday, promising participation for the whole family.

There are performances on Saturday mornings and afternoons as well as weekdays leading up to Christmas.

Artistic director Kirk Foster said this week: “Our children’s Christmas shows have always proved popular. As the show is only an hour long we have found over the years that many parents like them as a way of introducing their young children to live theatre without having to pay higher ticket prices that bigger theatres charge.”

This year’s adult show is the 19th staged at the Sun Street theatre and manager Glyn Doggett said: “Demand for tickets this year has been phenomenal – December was almost sold out in September.

“Audiences who came to see our summer adult comedy set in Roman times have been getting their tickets early, and the only way to do this was to extend to May.

“I think it will seem a bit unusual still running the pantomime that close to summer but we want to assure people that we will also be running other productions alongside the panto from February so people don’t have to wait until May to return to us.”

Tickets for Little Red Riding Hood, – which runs until Saturday, January 2 – are £10 while the adult panto punters will be paying £15 for their dose of double entendres and raunchy repartee.

You can get details of the dates for both shows online at www.markettheatre.co.uk or call the box office on 01462 433553 to check on availability.