Sleeping Beauty? - Tea Break Theatre (online) - ★★★★ - December 17-30, 2020


A Zoom success! The online trailer suggests Sleeping Beauty? is a panto the whole family will enjoy, and the show fulfills that promise. Full of fun, imagination, a light dab of audience involvement and two puppets, this panto put a smile on our face and kept it there right until the final curtain. Though we were at home, we felt we were in the theatre. Alicia McKenzie as Princess Rose and Chris Dobson as Prince are first-rate. With the delightful support of Felicity Sparks as Evie and Molly Small as Arrabelcha, they magically transported us from room to room in Katharine Armitage’s tale in which we met the dream-characters of the sleeping castle. You won’t forget the ingredients of Arrabelcha’s soup! However, Princess Rose and Prince won’t kiss – even to break the evil spell! They agree “we’ve both just met.” Besides, Princess Rose is “sick of people telling me what I can and can’t be.” Tune in to Zoom and enjoy a festive romp. This is a well-paced modern Sleeping Beauty that no one will sleep through.

Rated: ★★★★

Reviewed by A.V.
Photo by Lisa Ott.

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