A sweet treat for the under-sevens and their grown-ups, Hansel and Gretel (running at The Courtyard until December 31) is perfectly pitched at its wide-eyed audience.

As an introduction to live theatre, this is up there with the best. Adam Barlow and Latoya Lees are warm, funny and engaging, instantly establishing an easy rapport with children and adults alike before settling down to tell the story of their scary encounter with the Wicked Witch. It’s a clever device, ensuring that we all know instantly that Hansel and Gretel escaped to live happily ever after and creating a storytelling cocoon that takes the sting out of any scares.

With both actors also donning a simple disguise to play the witch, the sense of being immersed in an imaginative and creative game as they tell the story is cleverly emphasised.

A simple set and a pair of glove puppets as Hansel and Gretel’s beloved dad and the evil stepmother who wants to get rid of them, are fully employed to make it feel as though we’re with the siblings as they first get lost in the deep, dark forest – so clearly do the duo see and get entangled in the grabbity thorn bushes that we’re sure we can see them too – and then encounter the magical gingerbread house, a glorious confectionary construction. Hansel licking the sweets on the wall was a highlight for the four-year-old I went with!

Writer Nick Lane and director David Durant have done a fantastic job to create a show that’s carefully constructed to appeal to the under-sevens, keeping them fully engaged from start to finish, without ever being in danger of finding anything scary (even if Hansel is threatened with being eaten for dinner and the witch ends up as a ‘pointy tasting’ jelly baby after being cooked herself!). And they’re blessed in Adam and Latoya with a pair of actors who make wonderfully credible children and throw themselves energetically into every second of the show to take their audience on a magical, laugh-out-loud funny and, of course, sweet journey.

Hansel and Gretel runs at The Courtyard until Thursday, December 31. For show times and to book, call the box office on 01432 340555 or visit courtyard.org.uk