The festive season is well underway at Venue Cymru as the seasonal production of Sleeping Beauty launches…
For me, the countdown to Christmas Day starts the moment I’ve had my annual visit to a pantomime. It’s an environment where I can boo, hiss, laugh and shout to my hearts content and it’s actually quite cathartic (I’d highly recommend it!).
This year sees Qdos Pantomimes bring the magical story of Sleeping Beauty to the coastal town of Llandudno. This year’s production stars Loose Women and Benidorm star Sherrie Hewson as Nurse Temple Savage, Nigel Ellacott as the wonderful Queen Myfanwy and Kieran Powell as everyone’s favourite Jester, Muddles.
The atmosphere was full of excitement as the audience filled into the auditorium and the curtain lifted, ready for two and a half hours of fun, laughter and sillyness and this pantomime had that in bucket loads.
First #pantomime of the season! And yes I did laugh lots and of course I am now constantly singing the twelve days of Christmas??
Full review will be on the @DarwinEscapes blog on Monday! pic.twitter.com/ls4CDsGIE7— Annie (@AnnieR_) December 7, 2019
Personally Sleeping Beauty isn’t my favourite out of the pantomime storylines, nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the traditional ‘twelve days of Christmas song’, Queen Myfanwy’s outrageous (yet very clever!) costumes and the frequent mishaps throughout the performance which is the essence of every great pantomime.
For me one of the stand out performances of the night came from Kieran Powell, his ventriloquism skills were fantastic and one of my favourite moments was when he asked a member of the audience on stage to be part of a segment of the show. He played the character Muddles superbly and by the end of the show audiences were totally invested in him and also the magical element of the puppets! (No spoilers here but it is very magical!!!).
Special mention has to go to Jamie Birkett who played the role of Carabosse the Wicked Fairy, honestly one of the best evil characters I’ve seen for a long time. The staging was also so eye-catching and mesmerising and some great (quite big!!) surprises along the way too!
Sleeping Beauty is at Venue Cymru until 29th December with both matinee and evening performances available on selected days. For more information please visit the website. or call the Box Office on 01492 872000.