Sleeping Beauty, Salisbury Playhouse Review
Claudia Kariuki, Scotty Armstrong, Joseph Peacock and Neal Craig in Sleeping Beauty. Photo by Pamela Raith
Written by Charlotte for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Wiltshire Creative is back with their annual high-production Christmas panto, and this year, it’s Sleeping Beauty! With dazzling dances, laugh-out-loud hilarity and music from a live band, it promises pure festive joy for the entire family — and that’s exactly what it delivered.
When Princess Stella falls under the wicked curse of evil Fairy Badflix and is doomed to sleep for a hundred years, can her loyal friends and family break the spell? Will the forces of good triumph over evil? And is there a charming prince in Salisburyshire ready to save the day?
Sometimes, pantomimes can feel a little desperate to fill time and they can steer so far from the original story that they become slightly tedious. So going in knowing that Sleeping Beauty already doesn’t have as much of a substantial plot as some other classic stories do, I worried this might be the case with this one too… but I was so pleased that this wasn’t the case at all. It was engaging, fun, and it felt quite refreshing to see a story that isn’t given the panto treatment as often as the likes of Cinderella and Peter Pan (from my personal panto experience, anyway).
The production pulls out all the stops with beautiful sets, traditional panto costumes, special effects, smoke machines, and bubbles flying through the air. (Get ready for so many bubbles. The child in me was jumping for joy.) The songs are catchy and a great combo of original and pop or parody, and the live band adds the magic that is essential to this sort of high-energy show.
But the biggest highlight is the absolutely incredible performance from the cast. Each and every cast member blew me away — particularly the sweet charm of Stella (Lottie Mae O’Kill), the loveable sidekick Mike the Magnificent (Joseph Peacock), and the baddie Fairy Badflix (Natasha O’Brien), who the audience actually found difficult to boo because her stage presence and singing voice were just that incredible that you can’t help but genuinely love her a little bit.
Brimming with energy, show stopping performances, and rammed full of innuendos that sometimes had the adults laughing long after the joke was delivered, this really is a perfect show for all the family — and dare I say it, even panto haters won’t be able to help coming away from the Playhouse with a smile.
At Salisbury Playhouse until 12th January 2025.
★ ★ ★ ★
