Sleeping Beauty

One of the most dearly loved fairy tales of all time, Sleeping Beauty has, since its earliest versions in the fourteenth century, been adapted in many forms, and is a favourite traditional pantomime for professional and community theatre alike.  With its themes of good vanquishing bad and true love conquering all, it draws an audience that comes with expectations of seeing the stock panto characters of Good and Bad Fairies, Princess and Prince, as well as an entertaining assortment of other personalities, tackle the challenges within this solid, well known story through to the inevitable happy conclusion.  It was a bold decision to select a script that was far from the conventional development of the tale, instead offering a fresh look at the narrative.

The Prologue, played on the forestage, allowed the three good Fairies to relate the context of the brief tableau flashback of Princess Beauty’s birth, revealed through a gap made by lifting the inside edge of the tabs, and set the scene with the introduction of the evil Olga Pong.  The opening company number thus bypassed the Christening and took us straight to the eve of Beauty’s 16th birthday.  Sturdily constructed scenery with a twinkling star cloth fronted by swathes of blue chiffon depicted the Throne Room of the palace, which had an upper deck and impressive balustrade across the width of the stage that was important in providing good sight lines and a second level to give interest when many performers were on together.  Descending from it steps at UR were screened by a narrow flat, and grand high-backed thrones sat UC with a grandmother clock placed DL.  A pile of large wrapped presents and an enormous birthday cake were additions in the first scene. Replacing the thrones with a bed easily gave us Beauty’s Room and a front cloth, well painted with a gloomy forest, was drawn across for scene changes, the most extreme of which was to the seaside setting of Glitterpool.  A blue sky with large white clouds backed a beach location that sported a full sized Punch and Judy kiosk in front of a striped windbreak at left, with a ground row of half flats at right showing rolling waves that cleverly allowed an entertaining interlude of ‘shark’ v. human.  Olga’s Castle, a front cloth of painted stone castle wall, shortly gave way to a long UV scene played entirely in black tabs before a return to the Throne Room where Beauty lay sleeping. This was an economically designed stage that enabled a number of settings to be achieved with relatively minimal effort for the stage crew.

We saw Props that mixed reality with fantasy from Oddjob’s perfectly natural magnifying glass and Nurse Pinchme’s binoculars to her oversized medical weaponry - hypodermic syringe, scissors, and mallet.  The Fairies had pretty beribboned wands while Olga Pong carried a striped staff with glowing light, and the yellow dusters, mops and buckets gave a focus for the choreography of the full ensemble’s first appearance.  The long scroll, printed clearly to be read from the audience, looked as if it only just made it through the week(!); and did the Prince’s UV sword break in two on the penultimate show? - or was it designed to appear so?  Gormless seemed ready to eat anything with exaggerated knife and fork, and the flamingo ring float was a comic addition for the rather dim King Rumbletum, as was his improvised accordion-playing of the corset.  The jellyfish umbrellas came and went so quickly we barely had a chance to admire their resourceful construction before the ‘ice cream vendors’ appeared with violently lurid gelato cones and a supermarket trolley laden with supplies was wheeled in.  A variety of UV props made their way through the blackness - shoes, book, socks, snake, broom and the long-awaited spinning wheel.  Everything appeared to be in place when needed and was ably handled.

A well-equipped grid lit the scenes in a range of colours and swirling effects to add to the spectacle of the differing settings.  For the most part bright, natural tones gave clear illumination to all parts of the stage with the additional effects of gobos and angled laser spotlights to add disco-like excitement and atmosphere as appropriate.  Mini-blackouts, as spells were cast, permitted Beauty’s transformation costumes to be thrown onto stage more than once and the UV scenes were effectively blacked out with no leaks.  It’s worth noting that the further upstage and away from the black light the UV props were placed the less impact they had in terms of brightness - to counteract this perhaps the life-sized shoes for example could have been bigger, more cartoon-like, and the glowing spinning wheel, what might be seen as the dramatic climax of show and which was only visible upstage through a gap in the tabs, might have had greater prominence.  The glowing skeletons and costumes of course stood out clearly.  The balance between the recorded backing tracks and the vocals was generally good and comfortable on the ears, but on two pr three occasions I noted that some of the mics seemed to have a muffled quality that didn’t match the ‘brightness’ of others on stage.  The company singing was energetic, though this at times meant the lyrics were unclear, particularly so when new words replaced the familiar, and sharper diction would have helped those numbers that had single lines from individuals.  Smaller groups, duets and solos were delivered dynamically by experienced performers, however, there seemed to be long waits while the intro of tracks played before the vocal line started.  Not easy, I imagine, to cue in the backing behind the introductory dialogue so the transition is seamless - as it can be with live musicians.  Well-timed sound effects carefully chosen for their relevant nature added drama and comedy, with thunder crashes, tinkling ‘spell’ chimes, and medical examination noises.

Pantomime costumes can justifiably be an incompatible mixture of styles and periods and here was no exception.  Recycled modern wedding dresses/bridesmaid dresses stood alongside Regency breeches, 18th century tricorns, 1920s’ bathing costumes, Cinderella-type rags and two animal skins, Panda and Bear, underpinning the eclectic pantomime feel.  All the Fairies shared a common theme of jagged-hem skirts falling from a shirred bodice in different colours, Olga Pong's having a heavy cape, long sleeves and striped stockings rather than the tiaras and diaphanous cloaks of the others.  (Her tall peaked witch’s hat needed a bit of adjustment when she climbed out of the cake!)  There was a pleasing uniformity to the colour scheme of the yellow and white opening and the King and Queen were regally coordinated in their variety of maroon/purple-based outfits - lovely deep padded crown! and entertaining that they wore their crowns over their beach caps.  Oddjob’s uniform of a selection of paint-splotched dungarees and reversed baseball cap aptly fitted the brief of Comedy Lead, while Gormless was a gloriously grotesque Quasimodo character in his dramatic Harlequin tunic complete with heavy boots, hump and optional shark’s fin.  Squint engagingly looked like a Jeeves and Wooster character with braces, shorts and flat cap, his horn-rimmed bottle-glass specs adding greatly to his portrayal of the role.  The sophisticated strapless ballgown chosen for Beauty’s first appearance didn’t seem quite right for an innocent 15 year old, beautiful though it was, but Prince Handsome ticked the boxes for classic Principal Boy in fishnets, boots and tunic.  All fitted well and allowed freedom of movement.  UV skeletons and ghosts filled the stage in Olga Pong’s Castle and the spider’s web face masks of her minions were impressive.   Dame Nurse Pinchme, of course, takes the accolade for most costumes worn in three hours with a succession of ridiculous frocks.  There is a chance that a Dame in fishnet tights and ladies’ court shoes becomes a female impersonator, which a Dame traditionally isn’t and short skirts, particularly hooped skirts that tilt unflatteringly, allow too much thigh without bloomers to be seen, so the longer skirts she wore gave a better impression for this reviewer.  (During her song, Fabulous, Baby, she seemed very distracted by an unhemmed flapping headdress that hadn’t been secured properly.  A shame this hadn’t been sorted at dress rehearsal.) The brightly striped satin with matching tam o’shanter and Edna Everage specs was especially eye-catching and the bathing costume with mob cap, padded chubby bare midriff and exotic sunglasses was a humorous choice, but the magnificent Finale outfit took the prize - all too briefly.  The dazzling spectacle of Ensemble blues, turquoise, purple and gold was a fitting end to the show.      

Most of the performers wore their hair au naturelle with no requirement to have it dressed or tidied in a particular way; likewise make up, so the exceptions of those wearing wigs and character make up was noticeable.  Olga Pong entered suitably malevolent in her long green curls with distorted features accentuated by false nose and chin, (the colours might have been blended more subtly); the “mad professor” grey wig of King Rumbletum made him delightfully endearing; and full marks for the way an attractive woman changed into a lopsided, red-eyed Gormless monster in vivid lemon yellow wig.  It was totally and boldly unself-conscious… all great stuff!     A full head mask featured for the unusual cameo appearance in a wheelchair of a 100-year old Prince Hans - an original gimmick for the story.  Nurse Pinchme looked wonderful in auburn curls, puce crop, henna ringlets, blue bob, blonde flick-ups, orange fringe, and red chop, some of which seemed to be annoyingly getting in her mouth (pins/grips and hairspray) but the pièce de résistance was the gravity defying pyramid of electric blue feather-entwined waves, all with beauty spot enhanced “aren’t I gorgeous?” make up.        

The musical choices and the staging of those numbers, with simple choreography to suit the cast, added greatly to the satisfaction of this show.  Lively, well rehearsed routines interspersed the performance and it was brave to include the notoriously difficult ‘grand chain’ in Flash Bang Wallop - worth reminding the movers that if they don’t arrive where they should by the end it’s not a good idea to scrabble through the stop motion tableau ending to get there!  A lovely little sequence strengthened the effect of the quartet sung by King, Queen, Dame and Oddjob, and Beauty and Hans had some natural looking movements in their duet.  The three Fairies did a wonderful tongue-in-cheek backing à la 1960s’ girl groups to It Must’ve Been Love and the vibrant exercise routine was well synchronised.  Best Song Ever produced a spirited finale.

How daring to break your directorial duck with a pantomime, a theatrical genre regarded by many as the most difficult to master.  After this anything else will seem like a walk in the park!  Well done.  The choice of this particular script was unusual for a first as well, giving you little familiarity on which to draw.  It was a unique take on the story side-stepping the thorn-enclosed palace containing a sleeping princess and instead involving an abduction via the seaside to a castle dungeon.  You had a large cast to handle, all of whom threw themselves into the action with dedication, and certain given set pieces to manage on the way to the anticipated spindle prick and the denouement.  The team evidently worked well together and the audience was involved from the start with the “don’t touch the clock” lines, the Chase through the auditorium causing great thrills amongst the younger audience members as did the “he’s behind you” sequence (with its other than traditional ending) and the opportunity to go on stage for the community song.  You chose a variety of songs ranging from rousing company numbers to quieter ballads to provide contrasting moods, and created pictures on stage by using the different levels to add interest - there were times when groupings of twos and threes happily replaced regular lines.  Good use was made of all the possible entrances/exits - down the centre aisle and auditorium side door as well as those on stage. I have mentioned the perceived problems with the microphones but audibility is not only a technical issue.  The cast needs to be encouraged to project with dynamism even through a mic and to allow time for audience reaction before speaking the next lines.  Words can be lost by coming in too soon or without attack.  Your strong leads kept up a healthy pace so it’s not easy to see where you could have saved time but although it came down well after 10, the audience was enthusiastic and supportive to the end with many parents gleefully snapping little Jack or Jill during their moment of stardom.  You are all to be congratulated for producing a show that entertained large numbers over a successful run of performances and arguably gave some youngsters their first taste of live theatre.

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