Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty was a first for Keighley Musical Theatre Society after producing sixty years of pantomime, and what a wonderful job they made of retelling this story. They also chose a new writer (Alan Frayn) after many years of Rundle and Marsden pantos. The new script brought a fresher, more modern approach to panto and a talented cast told the familiar story.

We were introduced to the fable by Good Fairy Lilac and Bad Witch Hazel. Both had impeccable diction so no detail of the story was missed. Fairy Lilac (Leanne Watson) had an infectious giggle in her voice while Hazel (Phoenix Bass) was utterly convincing as the baddie. Later, Hazel was joined by her sidekick Egor (Lean Ogrizovic) who treated us to a range of scary facial expressions. Four other colour fairies also brought their spells.

Comedy was brought to the stage through four great performances. James Windle, as Muddles, is always very likeable on stage and he makes an excellent foil to the very dry approach of dame Jonny Tate. Together they worked the audience to maximum effect, milking the harmless double entendre, while still entertaining the younger audience.  Their slapstick scene was slick and entertaining.

They were joined in the fun by Fetch and Carrie (Max Hibbert and K. Ellis) who made a great pair of royal servants. They had some hilarious dialogue and a very clever scene with names of British towns, which I have never seen in panto before, another tribute to an inventive new script.

We were treated to three versions of Princess Rose: a non-speaking doll, then a charming young Princess who had a lovely presence and a beautiful speaking voice. Finally, the sixteen -year-old Rose arrived with a stunning smile (Alice Chapman). The love interest was completed by Prince Alexis (Luke Scott) who brought an elegant irony to the role of Prince. He knew how to work the comedy in order to make this prince a rounded character. Together Alexis and Rose treated us to some great scenes, dancing and singing beautifully.

Stephanie Laycock and Richard Smith made a charming royal couple. But the stage was at its most electric when filled by the wonderful company, including two youth choruses. KMTC are blessed with a large stage which was used to full effect. I especially liked the schoolroom scene, when the full ensemble showed their attitude in a version of Revolting Children. They looked as though they enjoyed every second.

Choreography was excellent throughout, as we have come to expect at Keighley and the dream sequence worked particularly well. The comedy musical number- done in addition to the community song- was a quirky, tongue-in-cheek version of the old standard If I were not upon the stage. You’d have to witness it to understand why the audience were so amused, but it was inventive and very slick. The settings were changed promptly by a very efficient stage crew whose job has been much enhanced by the use of projections.

A massive well done to the excellent production team of Peter Whitley, Judith Chapman and Mike Gilmore. Additional material to the script had been contributed by Mark Brown. This was a fitting tribute, as Mark, who died at only 46 in September 2024, is sorely missed by many of us in District 11.

Thank you for your warm welcome, it was good to see so many familiar faces as well as the new, young members who are your future.

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