The Stage review of Graeme's "Sleeping Beauty"
01/12/2008 00:00 GMT

Posted by lisa

Here's another review of Graeme's panto, which is playing at The Theatre in Chipping Norton through January 10th.  This is from The Stage (http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/22563/sleeping-beauty):

Sleeping Beauty

Published Monday 1 December 2008 at 11:25 by Peta David

Every year this little theatre produces a great panto and this year is no exception. It is always child-friendly and fully focused on entertaining younger audience members. This is a tale of Sleeping Beauty with a twist in the tail - it features a Prince played by a sprightly Richard Pepper, who arrives on a bicycle to awaken the sleeping princess and explains to the bemused King Couer-de-Loup - played by sword welding Andrew Wheaton - all about the advent of the railways since they have been slumbering.

The princess, played perfectly by Helen Hurd, will not marry the Prince, but after a lot of talk about trains and bicycles and a spot of time in the dungeon, they fall in love and all is right with the world.

Caribosse is played with buckets of wickedness by Kathryn Martin, who has a strong singing voice - which can not be said for poor old Nanny Fanny Chuckabutty, played by Adam Russell-Owen, who scrapes through various songs sounding like he smokes 40 a day. It all adds to his character.

Written by Graeme Garden of The Goodies fame, it takes a while to fill out and is a bit slow in places.

Production information
The Theatre, Chipping Norton, November 18-January 10
Author: Graeme Garden