Sleeping Beauty is a dream of a pantomime!
It's panto time at Perton Civic Centre this week, as Harlequin Pantomimes present “Sleeping Beauty” and it’s a dream. Harlequin is the epitome of an amateur panto group, who for almost two decades have performed this uniquely British art form for friends and family. They don’t pretend to be anything other than a group of pals who come together to have fun and I think that is why it works so well. Their enthusiasm and determination to have a great time oozes across the flood lights, and the audience members soon become wrapped up in the cast’s enjoyment too.
Now, amateur pantomime scripts tend to be very lengthy and this one is no exception. A 10.20pm finish is far too late for the little ones, and I felt there were scenes which could have been omitted and the show would still have retained all the fun and frolics of a traditional panto. Less is more sometimes.
That said, they did cover just about everything! A wallpapering scene, full of mess and mayhem, a scary ghost which gave us plenty of opportunities to shout out “He’s Behind You!”, a must in all pantos, cute children on stage and a community song, so what’s not to like?
The group is extremely lucky to have the Grand Theatre Pantomime Musical Director, Rob Murray on board and together with Sunim Koria and Dave Shipley, his tiny but excellent band, Rob whipped his way through more than a dozen musical numbers, as well as arranging backing tracks for the large ensemble numbers which ensured the carefully chosen, bang up to date music sounded as professional as possible.
The queen of amateur pantoland, the Delicious Dame Paul Bowman, returned to play Nurse Nelly, and of course gave us endless laughter, classic one-liners and a selection of outrageous outfits. It is evident that Paul has studied professional dames over the years and has developed his portrayal of this very unique character. Keep going Paul, there are not many dames left!
Harriet Homers is delightful as Princess Aurora, in fine voice and is very well cast opposite Jack Cottis who plays her love interest Marco. Her take on the role is that of a modern princess, yet she still retained the fairy tale feeling and Jack’s ability to hold the audience with his appeal and excellent singing voice is exceptional. Together they make the perfect panto pair.
No panto is complete without a baddie of course and Ellie Farmer is the ultimate wicked queen, Maleficent, with a voice to shatter glass and a crackle that I swear I could hear ringing out across Sainsbury’s car park before I even entered the building! Together with her henchman Russell Crow played by Harlequin stalwart, David Ball, they managed to achieve just the right combination of evil and comedy to keep the kids happy! Even though Russell Crow is completely silent throughout the show, David Ball’s puppetry skills and mime are second to none.
Matt Wirtz as Muddles is whacky and weird and a definite hit with the kids, while Alex Jeffreys as Prince Amadeus is the perfect camp comic, with no inhibitions whatsoever and delivers aside jokes with ease. Dave Callaghan as King William is suitably funny, confused and doddery, making the most of his role.
The show is exceptionally well cast and the energetic, hard-working ensemble and dancers rounded everything off nicely, with their enthusiasm and faces full of smiles, but the evening really belonged to Stacey Smith as Fairy Starburst, who is streets ahead of everyone.
Stacey’s comedic skills, ability to ad-lib and interact with the audience, not to mention her outstanding vocal performance, is the backbone of the show, delighting the audience at every entrance. Her solo performance of “A Moment Like This” at the end of Act One, brought tears to my eyes and deserved a standing ovation. Stacey is the best fairy I have seen for a long time in both amateur and professional shows.
So all in all, a great evening of family entertainment again from Harlequin Pantomimes and they should be congratulated for their hard work and dedication to keeping pantomime alive.
It’s Goldilocks and the Three Bears next year for the group which they will perform in the same venue from January 15-18. This panto should be fun too, but just shave half an hour off the show and it will be a definite winner.
For tickets for Sleeping Beauty visit seaty.co.uk/hppsleepingbeauty Runs until Sunday.
