Not-So Sleeping Beauty

Burtonwood AMADS were back on stage with their take on the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty with their pantomime ‘Not-So Sleeping Beauty’, written and directed by Mary Anne Gleeson. This was a neat take on the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty, with the traditional pantomime elements sprinkled in. If anything, the script could have been tightened up, as there were moments of repetitiveness within the story. The direction from Mary Anne was good throughout, with traditional pantomime elements adhered to, such as the villain entering stage left and the good fairy entering stage right, the slapstick scene with the comedy duo, and soaking the audience with water! The pace of the pantomime was generally good, with scenes happening in front of the curtains to aid with big set changes. This allowed the pantomime to flow well. The set pieces helped transport the audience to the different locations, with projections either side of the set helping to do this as well. Incorporating the Helping Hands into the pantomime added to the comedy of the production, as they handed props to the actors on stage.

The musical director was Izzy Nash. The cast performed to backing tracks and handled this well. There were a nice range of songs throughout the pantomime, with some nicely reworked lyrics that linked to the story. Well done to James Gleeson, Jim McMillan, Hannah Smith and Pauline Taylor for you work in rewriting the lyrics.

The choreographer for this pantomime was Chloe Hughes. There was a range of styles throughout which were performed well by the cast and suitable to the abilities of them all. The cast performed the choreography with energy.

Technical elements were well thought of throughout the performance. The lighting was good, with some nice elements, including the green and pink used for ‘What is this Feeling?’. Sound was good throughout as well. The balance between those who wore microphones and the backing tracks was good – everything could be heard. Just be careful that the volume of the microphone is brought down if a character is screaming.

The costumes were very good throughout. They were suitably bright and colourful. The dame’s costumes were garish and over-the-top, and the styling of Fairy Nuff was a standout.

Hannah Fenwick gave a delightful spin to the character of Princess Aurora, taking her destiny into her own hands. She was certainly no damsel in distress! Hannah portrayed a strong character, and she interacted well with the rest of the cast.

Hannah Smith was a standout as Dame Snuffs/Snoozie. She was fully committed to the dame character, delivering a big, loud and brash performance, which was perfect for the role. She engaged with the audience straight away, and worked with them well. Hannah commanded the stage whenever she was on it, and brought the energy of the pantomime up. The only downside was that she was on stage not nearly enough!

Oliver Matthews did well as Buttons/Zippy. He displayed good confidence in this comic role, and interacted with the audience well. There was a nice sincerity to Oliver’s performance, and he certainly had the audience on side.

Arran Abbey delivered another standout performance as Fairy Nuff. He certainly had the audience in the palm of his hands, encouraging a reaction from them with every entrance. Arran displayed a wonderful stage presence and his version of ‘What Is this Feeling?’, performed with Mia was suitably wicked!

Chloe Hughes and Bronte Tranter created a good comedy double act as Wickes/Bee and Homebase/Queue respectively. They worked really well together, and brought lots of comedy to the stage. Their slapstick scene was well done, and got plenty of laughs.

Pauline Carr was tentative at first, but soon settled into her role as Mrs Tattle-Tell-a-Tale, acting as the narrator of the pantomime. She engaged with the audience and got them on side. Perhaps a big storybook would have assisted Pauline – it would not have looked out of place for the narrator to be using one.

James Gleeson showed great promise as Prince Gallant Sparkle Heart, subverting the traditional principal boy character. There was humour in his performance and he was suitably self-indulgent as the prince. Herb Moore worked well with James as Sir Reginald. Herb interacted well with the audience and had a dry sense of humour, which worked very well.

Mia Hurst was suitably sweet as Fairy Lovely, twirling onto the stage with every entrance. Mia brought a nice confidence to the role, matching Arran’s energy in their scenes.

There was a big ensemble of young performers and adults, who all did very well throughout. They were all given their chance in the spotlight, with some having named parts, such as the villains encountered in the pantomime. Rebekah Denton particularly impressed with her performance as the Dragon, full of sass and great vocals.

Overall, this was a good production. There were some strong performances, the music was good, and there were nice elements of staging.

A big thank you to everyone at Burtonwood AMADS for their kind invite and hospitality.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.