Sleeping Beauty Panto @ Darlington Civic

Is it really legal to have this much fun ?

Pantos are all about fun, good ol' fashioned, silly and daft fun, and this one is one of the very best I've seen, ever.  The production is top notch with a fab choice of music, great dance routines, wonderful costumes and a superb fantasy set.  The cast clearly enjoy what they are doing and revel in the freedom that Panto gives them - so what if they get a fit of the giggles, we were all in howls of laughter anyway and even more so when it's obvious that they are enjoying it just as much. 

The knowing winks to the adult members of the audience let us know that we're all here for the fun and that's what makes it so engaging, so inclusive.  The kids, of course, love the staple fayre of "He's behind you", "Oh yes you are" and booing the villain, while us 'grown ups' are given double entendres,  music hall jokes and, for the dads, plenty of the gorgeous Ms Lusardi playing a deliciously evil fairy that prompts a flashbacks to my early teenage years.  (Don't worry girls, I have it on good authority that Will Tudor as Prince William is great eye candy for you). Added into this maelstrom of merriment is Philip Hitchcock as King Stephan - a very, very accomplished magician who wow'ed us all with some stunning illusions.

Zoe Birkett as the titular Princess lives up perfectly to her character's name, Philip Meeks as Nurse Dolly is outrageously camp and butch at the same time while Sam Kane as Oddjob, and Andy Jones as Muddles provide the madcap double act which at times made it hard to keep breathing through all the laughter.

Leave your inhibitions at the door, tightly wrap up your ribs so they don't burst and make sure you've been to the toilet before the show begins, you don't want any involuntary accidents happening (especially during the "12 days of Christmas")

There's no better way to start your Christmas season and if everything else is as fun & happy as this show then we're all in for the best Christmas ever.

Sleeping Beauty is on at Darlington Civic until Sun 20th Jan with most days having 2 shows - tickets from the box office.

Finally - a big thank you to the staff at Darlington Civic - this wonderful theatre is a crowning jewel in the North East arts & culture landscape and it is down to the staff who create such a unique theatre-going experience that it is loved and treasured.

Sleeping Beauty Panto @ Durham Gala

They say that fortune favours the brave, well, after watching this festive feast, Fortune,  Steve Fortune that is, favoured us all. 

The story of Sleeping Beauty is well known as one of the more traditional panto favourites - plenty of scope for beautiful princesses, wicked wizards, helpful fairies and of course a panto dame.  In an age where kids' imaginations are grabbed by Harry Potter, Transformers and a whole host of TV wizardry, I feared that the annual stage-set story telling would fall between the CGI cracks but my fears were completely misplaced.  What the production team at Durham Gala have done is to bring the story and it's portrayal right up to date. The set designs are vibrant and deep, the choreography is very 'street' and the cast are very much in tune with their audience.   I won't spoil the very special effects save to say they drew gasps from the audience,young and old, but this is very much a panto for the modern day audience.

Of course, panto wouldn't be panto without the usual audience participation - "Oh yes it would" - and the Gala at Durham is possibly the best venue in the north east for bringing audience and performers together. The proximity of the seats to the stage, the fact that the orchestra is sat up high to the side and the perfect sight lines mean every person was close enough to see, hear and on many occasions feel the action (they could even mark the first 8 rows as a designated 'splash zone').  The cast, in particular Dame Miriam and Silly Billy use this perfectly, and keep the feeling of inclusion and participation going right to the end.

Talking of Dame Miriam, Steve Fortune is simply fantastic - he knows how to deliver not just double entendres but triple and quadruple ones - the kids love his wacky outfits, the mum's envy his 'womanly' strength and the men just marvel at how he manages to dance in 'those' heels. Played with much more burlesque than camp, Steve and his/her son Silly Billy (played to big kid perfection by Paul Hartley) are the perfect counterfoil to the evil wickedness of Wizard Scorchard (Neil Armstrong) and his minions.

Pantos are all about family fun and this show delivers it in buckets, literally buckets.  If you haven't got your tickets yet, get them now and treat yourself to a fab night out - you know you want to......Oh yes you do !!