ONE OF the nice things about going to pantomime at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre is that the audience comprise locals who take their panto very seriously – from the moment you enter the foyer the air is buzzing. As soon as when the band strike up the overture, the participation begins – first with a spontaneous clap-a-long followed by a roar to raise the roof as the lights go up and the magical nonsense begins.
Of course, the real judgment of a good panto is the atmosphere at the end – happily it was simply joyous, as even after a seemingly endless walkdown, the citizens still stayed and so did the cast for an impromptu sing-song. Only the grinch-iest heart could fail to exit feeling Christmas had truly arrived.
Picture by Alex Styles. s
This year regular writers Ian Adams and Tam Ryan have penned their adaptation of the classic tale ‘Sleeping Beauty’ – and a riot of fun it is too. Adams also plays Dame Mary Fortune with Ryan taking on the role of her son Mickey. They are joined by a bevy of top talent with Georgia Iudica-Davies as a gorgeous Princess Beauty, Solomon Davy as dashing Prince Stephen and Zak Douglas making a delightfully daft Gerald the Herald.
The wonderful actress and impressionist Debra Stephenson is enchanting as Sleeping Beauty’s mum, Queen Bertha of Bilstonia and her nemesis, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK winner, Danny Beard, is suitably dastardly, scary and the butt of all our boos as the dark entity that is Carabosse.
Picture by Alex Styles. s
A special shout out to the hardworking ensemble who dance, tumble and sing their socks off. They truly make the night sparkle.
This Sleeping Beauty is two hours, 40 minutes crammed with all your traditional fare of slapstick, innuendos, local jokes, stunning frocks, special effects, a cracking band and sumptuous settings.
The fourth wall is non-existent from the get-go with the audience feeling they are calling the shots.
Stunning lighting design from Sam Hilditch, impeccable sound from Michael Riley, top drawer set and wardrobe from Davis Shields, exciting choreography from Natalie Bennyworth, magical music under the baton of Daniel Goodger – all knitted together masterfully by director David Janson.
Picture by Alex Styles. s
Truthfully, it was a long and torturous journey last night from Bromsgrove to Wolverhampton, with closed motorways, roadworks and football traffic chaos but with a sprinkle of panto dust it all disappeared once inside the theatrical majesty of The Grand where a warm welcome washed away all thoughts of irritated motorists outside.
Go and fill your boots full of seasonal gladness and madness – this Sleeping Beauty is bostin’! (as we say).
Sleeping Beauty at the Wolverhampton Grand runs until January 2. Click here for times, tickets and more information.
