Jack and the Beanstalk, Secret Garden and Peter Pan are among the biggest shows in West Yorkshire this Christmas.

Keighley News reviewers here give their opinions on all three family productions.

Giant laughs, giant thrills, giant songs and giant heart -- Jack and the Beanstalk has it all, writes David Knights.

Bradford Alhambra's panto also has the best actual giant I've ever seen, looming over the stage in the second act. But this massive ogre doesn't overshadow comedian Billy Pearce as he gives another top-notch panto performance.

He has the audience eating from his hand from the first scene -- as much as the real cow that plays Daisy.

Despite Billy's charm and comic talent, this is no one-man show -- other principals including Gaynor Faye and Hairspray's Leanne Jones also excel.

The young Sunbeams -- from the Sara Packham Theatre School in Oxenhope -- are also terrific in a wide variety of fun guises.

Jack and the Beanstalk gives us energetic song and dance routines, breathtaking circus stunts, magic tricks, flying, rainfall and a snowstorm.

And all these set-pieces -- whether comical, musical or simply spectacular -- are held together by strong story.

Cracking fun for all ages is on offer until January 31. The Secret Garden combines old-fashioned storytelling with inspired staging, writes David Knights.

Children and adults alike were enthralled as the classic children's book was brought to life as a musical.

First we see how arrogant ten-year-old Mary, living in imperial India, loses both her parents to cholera.

She is horrified to be sent to her uncle's rambling mansion on the Yorkshire moors.

The uncle still grieves for his long-dead wife and spurns Mary because she resembles his beloved Lily.

Initially lonely, Mary gradually falls under the spell of the wintry gardens and befriends an animal-mad village boy.

The pair try to find their way into the Lily's garden, locked up for many years, and discover the house's other dark secret.

There isn't much razzmatazz in this show, and little humour, but there's plenty of charm, atmosphere and magic.

Many of the songs are instantly forgettable but they are excellently played and sung, and do help tug the heartstrings.

Watching the first act requires a little patience, but the audience is rewarded with a story that grows more compelling and moving.

Northern Ballet Theatre's Peter Pan began its 10-day run last Thursday to the evident enjoyment of the audience, writes John Pettit.

Neither humans nor fairies would complain if Nana the dog [Victoria Sibson] stole the show, followed closely by a particularly large crocodile [Michael Berkin].

That said, Peter Pan himself was handsomely taken by Ashley Dixon whose flying was spectacularly graceful.

His pas de deux at the beginning of Act 2 with an adoring Wendy [Pippa Moore] was a highlight where Stephen Warbeck's music began to kick in.

The other Darlings had a lot of fun and Captain Cook [Kenneth Tindall] and his not-so-merry men were as to the manner born.

The evening's five adventures in The Neverland, begun and ended in a London nursery, were beautifully mounted and lit on a revolving stage by David Nixon and Peter Mumford to add to the magic.

* The Secret Garden runs until January 23, phone 0113 213 7700; Peter Pan runs until December 27, phone 0844 848 2701; Jack and the Beanstalk runs until January 31, phone 01274 432000.