Sleeping Beauty – Darlington Hippodrome
8th December 2024
Invited | Review by Stephen Stokoe
Fourth pantomime of the season and the second produced by Crossroads who also produce the pantomime up the road in Newcastle and many others nationwide. I do not really need to go into the story of Sleeping Beauty because it is a path well trodden. Seasoned panto professional, Su Pollard, rattles through the prologue at a fair rate to introduce herself as the villainous Carabosse hell bent on harming our heroine, the princess Aurora (Stephanie Costi) and the main storyline as to why she has a beef with the beautiful princess.
Keeping a watchful eye on the threatened Princess Aurora is a good and kindly sprite called The Spirit of Pantomime played with glamour and beautiful vocals by Olivia Foster-Browne who sparkles and shines her way adding a tinkly glamour to the proceedings. Speaking of glamour, and back in the human world we have returning star Jamie Jones resplendent in numerous costumes of his own design as Nurse Nellie. There is a solemnity about Jones’ dame which demands one sits up and pays attention whenever she glides onto the stage.
There is, of course, a love story and that is between the Princess Aurora and Prince Lee of Longnewton (Lee Mead) but the mushiness, which tends to have the younger audience members squirming in their seats and rustling sweet papers is largely glossed over in this production. Prince Lee and Princess Aurora are in love. There is no will they won’t they nonsense, it is simply a fact right from the outset.
You cannot have Lee Mead in your production without alluding to his winning turn in the BBC Search for a Star vehicle ‘Any Dream Will Do’ where he won the part of Joseph and I would like to say that the directors and producers carefully wove in an intricate and ingenious way of doing so. No, it was about as subtle as a brick and for me was all the more hilarious for it.
Su Pollard is in imperious form as the evil Carabosse. This timeless actor has appeared in over 50 pantomimes. She delights in drawing the kids into her wicked schemes and willing them to boo and hiss her and they all willingly oblige. The other characters all suggest that they recognise her from TV in the eighties with reference to several sitcoms of the era before the rather satisfying conclusion of the running gag towards the very end. You have to be a certain age to even remember some of the programmes used in the gags but pantomime is not all about the kids now, oh no it isn’t!
There are a couple of things that set Darlington Hippodrome’s pantomime apart. Firstly, it is visually stunning. The set, lighting and costumes are all full of glitter and glamour from the sparkly show cloth to, and in particular, the beautifully painted cloth for the interactive ‘Muddles’ band community element near the end of the performance. Much praise as to go to the whole team, of which there are many for the hours of hard work that must have gone into their production. The other, is the length of the show which clocks in at just under two hours including an interval. Some pantomimes seem interminable but this one ticks along at a fair old rate without compromising on content or quality.
A shout out to the ensemble who danced beautifully as various characters and interacted very well with the main cast. I recognised at least one of them from pantomimes past. Good to see you twinkling your toes again.
There is a pantomime favourite, some with different soundtracks, but is essentially the same set piece be it The 12 Days of Christmas or A Sailor Went to Sea Sea Sea. Darlington has probably the most beautifully crafted and performed ‘If I Were Not Upon the Stage’ I have seen in recent years. Quite often this segment can descend into utter carnage but here it is carefully choreographed for maximum mirth and hilarity with one character in particular taking the prat falls. Which beautifully segues into my Star of the Show. I often discount the main cast for consideration for this accolade because, frankly, they get enough adulation, but on this occasion I can see no further than Muddles himself and returning performer Josh Benson. His effervescent performance had me exhausted before the end of the first act let alone his herculean efforts in the second. This man is clearly powered by something the National Power Grid should tap into. His interaction with the kids at the end of the show should be recorded and played as a masterclass for future performers. Josh Benson, you most certainly did not get muddled, so step forward and take another very well deserved bow.
There is literally something for everyone in Darlington Hippodrome’s Sleeping Beauty which runs until Tuesday 31stDecember.