The New Victoria Theatre in Woking is known for its dazzling pantomimes, but this year’s Sleeping Beauty will take some beating. With incredible illusions and impressive special effects, it certainly puts the ‘Oh!’ in panto.
The story loosely follows the traditional plot: Carabosse places a curse on Princess Aurora that activates on her 21st birthday and, helped by a good spirit, she falls into a deep sleep only to be woken by true love’s kiss. And from this basic outline, the panto story is built—there’s no forest of thorns, wacky time travel or 100-year sleep, but we do have a kidnapped King and Queen, terrifying pet dragon and unlikely hero in the form of Muddles the Royal Magician with help Sooty and Sweep.
And ultimately, this show is a star turn for these veteran performers; with his signature magic spell “Izzy Whizzy Let’s Get Busy”, Sooty charms the royal court and the audience. The cheeky chap pops up all over the set, drives his own caravan and even a flies a helicopter in a spectacularly staged scene. He has some help winning the day, of course, Sweep provides comedic support (the audience are treated to his impression of Pavarotti) and Muddles is the human in charge. As Muddles, Richard Cadell enthusiastically fulfils the sidekick role with jokes aplenty, lots of audience interaction and cheeky asides for the locals. His experience is clear to see, and he’s as perfectly at ease negotiating the house song as he is executing truly magical illusions.
He's not the only character with access to magic, however, with Christopher Biggins cast as The spirit of Dreams and Faye Tozer as Carabosse the Sorceress. Biggins, who never stops being Biggins, is flown in Wicked-style like a glitter-clad Man in the Moon. With a costume reminiscent of Eurovision’s Verka and with a storybook in tow, he partially narrates the story, occasionally intervening to help the goodies. His mere presence is greeted by a cheer, but he does look rather uneasy so high up in the air, and it was a shame that he was reading parts of the script.
Keeping her feet very much on the ground, however, is Tozer’s sultry Carabosse, complete with excellent villainous cackle. She easily elicits plenty of boos and commands the stage during her monologues. Steps fans will also be happy to know that the royalites will be rolling in from a very apt rendition of "Scared of the Dark" and a fun but rather unnecessary medley of hits as the show’s finale number.
And of course, we have a love story courtesy of Rhianne Drummond’s Aurora and Will Richardson’s Prince William of Westfield, both offering confident performances but very much underused. Similarly, Aurora’s parents, Queen Constance and King Kenneth (Brenda Longman and James Paterson), make little impact through no fault of their own. An up-tempo Christmas song medley is virtually the only proper stage time the four characters receive, which is pleasant festive distraction from the main plot.
The principals are supported by an ensemble of excellent dancers who, richly costumed, fill the stage with high kicks and complicated footwork. It is a shame however, that there is no room for any characterisation, and they appear very much in a supporting capacity.
With stunning sets and sumptuous costumes, this Sleeping Beauty is slick, polished, magical and glitzy, ticking many a panto box. Without a dame at its core, however, there is a missing ingredient in terms of spontaneity with Muddles often needing to bounce his jokes off a disapproving Carabosse. The lack of recognisable songs is also a factor, leaving some in the audience looking for the familiar over the fantastical—even the famous "If I Was Not Upon This Stage" skit feels bolted on. As a high quality festive treat, the show certainly delivers, however, and the legion of children laughing at Sooty’s antics would certainly agree.