Sleeping Beauty

Script by John Bartlett in a first production in the East; also a first production by Tom Key with Jon Moule, and also acting as MD Tom Key must have been ‘living’ this pantomime. A very novel approach to the story by the author, and really clever, but I felt that it was too long (I am sufficiently traditional to like my pantomimes to end near 10pm and not after 1030pm!). The 100-year time-swing periods of action gave a great chance for all those characters, and two Dames, Tizzy Wizz of Laurence Barnett with a huge amount of dialogue, and great grandmother Wizzy Tiz from Chris Morter. One had to keep up with the story and action to realise which period of the story was through the time space, small children might well get left behind. However starting in the present and looking back, we understood the story of the jewelled comb in keeping to the Dames from the Palace. The dialogue was full of a multitude of jokes fired off by the comedy team, in fact there were almost too many which made the dialogue top heavy. With Tizzy Wiz, Jack (Josh Lloyd Francis) and Spot and Boil (Josh Lincoln and Isla Butcher) fulfilling their comedy traditional roles of ‘Dame, Idle Jack, and Brokers Men’ no-one could complain of insufficient humour, almost an overdose. And 100 years earlier, the birthday cake making slapstick sequence from Wizzy Tizz and assistants Tick and Tock (Sam and Ben Mann) was filled with life and energy and the most revolting mess imaginable! Add in the Palace Army under Sergeant Drill (Richard Crawley) and the most incompetent (and drunken) layabouts as his Privates and the ‘laughter lines’ are more than fulfilled. Returning to the original story Princess Briar Rose (Beth Robertson) and Prince Frederick (Becky Scott) offered the ideal duo of young lovers in looks and style, and her parents King and Queen Grumble (Malcolm Robertson and Sharon Butcher) were amusing little cameo roles but important to the story. And for the children and participation for all, we enjoyed a pantomime horse and a gorilla. The key roles in argument and disagreement in the fight of good and evil were very well cast: the Good Fairy sparkling in white and silver, Hannah Steele rhymed with style as she opposed the forces of evil. And what forces! As Carabosse, Maris McCann-Williams just stole this show: her dominance on stage, her presence and looks, her amazing delivery of dialogue was a tour de force, she acted not just with face and hands and body but down to the last eyelash, and the singing voice was still to be reckoned with! Lovely sets and plentiful scenes, so colourful and reminiscent of illustrations in childrens’ fairy tale books, very fresh, and complimented by colourful costumes to brighten up the dull drear of the snowy night.

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