Each year pantomimes across the country have to think of new creative ways to draw in audiences, making it harder and harder to top the last. One thing’s for sure, Shrewsbury’s Theatre Severn have a winning formula led by writer and producer Paul Hendry, whose 13th year of pantomime at the venue is Sleeping Beauty.
The fairytale of Sleeping Beauty tells the story of Princess Aurora (Lauren Lane) who is cursed by the evil Carabosse (Gemma Sutton). She is to sleep for a hundred years if her finger is pricked on a spinning wheel before her 21st birthday. Our good fairy Moonbeam (Dionne Ward-Anderson) has managed to destroy all in the kingdom, except one. When Aurora pricks her finger she can only be awoken by the kiss of her one true love Prince Michael (Christian Southway).
There are several elements to Shrewsbury’s pantomime which ensure audiences return every year. Whether it be ‘the wheelbarrow of puns’ which this year has a very clever musical theme to proceedings, to ‘the ghost bench’ which time and time again draws a huge response from children and adults alike. The pure joy of pantomime is seeing blunders and the cast break character and how they turn it into a hilarious sketch. None more so than the staple ‘We’ll have to sing it again then won’t we’ scene in which a particular piece of set was not working as intended which only made the whole thing more farcical than intended.
The creative team have done a magnificent job collaborating to deliver one of the most visually aesthetic pantomimes in the land. Set design (Terry Parsons, Michelle Marden, Stuart Ralph) is elegant, yet traditional, with striking backdrops and the costumes (Terry Parsons, Helga Wood, Ella Haines, Amy Chamberlain) are impressively lavish. Tik Tok viral sensation Chris Hall’s fun and sometimes cheeky choreography is just what we would expect and is needed for this tale.
Hendry’s writing is clever and genuinely hilarious throughout, with an abundance of original jokes… well for pantomime anyway. With audience participation aplenty keeping the audience engaged as well as the usual references to Shropshire and the tongue in cheek jabs at Telford, there truly is something for everyone in this joyous piece of theatre. As strong as the writing is, the jokes only land if they are performed in the right way by the cast, and each member of the company are faultless.
Directed by, and starring, Brad Fitt, as our panto dame Nurse Nellie, returns once again to Theatre Severn to star in Sleeping Beauty this festive season. Firmly a fan favourite around these parts, Fitt is the epitome of what a great dame is. From the moment they arrive on stage to the tune of Chappel Roan’s Hot To Go, they have the audience in the palm of their hand delivering humorous one liners to priceless interactions with the audience. Fitt is just as at home with mishaps and spur of the moment happenings, as he is with the script and really keeps the show together. Each outfit (Michael Batchelor) more outrageous and preposterous than the one before ensures that Fitt continues as one of the best panto dames in the country and long may it continue.
Joining Fitt for a third year and potentially now deemed a pantomime veteran in his own right is Tommy J Rollason as comedy side kick Jangles. Working in tandem with Fitt, Rollason is a bundle of energy throughout, displaying his own unique style of comedy particularly standing out in the magic musical button sketch with a priceless payoff. Not content with just being comical, he also impresses with talented fire juggling which was highly entertaining.
Lane as Aurora and Southway as Prince Michael had the perfect amount of chemistry whilst also over-acting to their heart's content. Their performance ended with a lovely rendition of The Human League’s ‘Together In Electric Dreams’, fully utilising the large ensemble. Sutton as villainous Carabosse shone with her impressive vocals during ‘Sweet Dreams’ by the Eurythmics and ‘Hellfire’ from the hunchback of Notre Dame. Joined by her velociraptors aptly named ‘Lloyd’ and ‘Webber’ at the ‘Black Forest Chateaux’ together, they instilled a genuine fear amongst the younger audience members and perhaps some adults too. Sutton’s exaggerated villainy embodied the spectacle of the pantomime.
Ward-Anderson gave us sass, class and attitude as good fairy Moonbeam. The star previously of Six the Musical demonstrated to Shrewsbury West End worthy power vocals, as well as coming into her comedic own as the performance went on. It was lovely to see each member of the cast have ample time on stage, which isn’t always present in pantomimes, so they each got time to excel, stand out and allow their characters to develop.
Do not sleep on this production, the beauty of this pantomime is it is an all rounder with riotous results. Shrewsbury is extremely lucky to have a performance of this calibre in town, as it is something you would expect of a larger regional theatre. The perfect Christmas treat for the entire family this festive season. Sleeping Beauty is everything you would want in a pantomime and more.
Sleeping Beauty runs at Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury until 12th January.
★★★★★ (5*)
Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Pamela Raith
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