Sleeping Beauty at the Stag in Victoria….panto at its very best

Pantomime at the Stag, Victoria, SW I – The Sleeping Beauty

The Stag has something of a reputation for its Panto and this year I was lucky enough to catch their version of Sleeping Beauty by Jon Bradfield & Martin Hooper – the writers of last year’s Panto – Robin Hood – Queen of Thieves.

First let it be said panto is a deceptive art form…one of those things many think anyone can throw off…whereas actually writing a good Panto isn’t that easy…indeed it’s quite an art form in its own right…

And last night’s Sleeping Beauty was a real joy…delightful plot, full of classy lines and populated by characters that you really grew to love. And that is the secret of the genre…and its longevity…

Panto needs to work of so many levels… story-telling, banter, slap-stack, timing, singing, dancing and yet still holding on to genuine spontaneity…and soul. It needs slickness that never loses touch with its audience…a knowingness that suggests more than a double entendre…it needs warmth but should touch on things that take an audience somewhere beyond their experience and maybe beyond their prejudices…

This ticked all those boxes and kept you smiling and laughing and sort of crying all night…and no one can ask more of entertainment than that…

The cast gave generously and garroulsly….Fairy Glowstick – Mandy Dassa; Lady Gargoyle – Matthew Baldwin; Beauty – Matthew Ferdenzi; Carabosse – Samantha Ridings; Josh – Mitchell Lathbury; Sidney – Steven Rodgers; Aggie / Maggie – Ellie Fiore; Prince Edward – Greg Airey; Angus Steakhouse and Aggy – Philip Lawrence…and I’m loathe to pick any single one of them:all deserve mention and all gave performances of note. I liked the singing too – clear, direct and not shouted…. Josh’s reworking of ‘I am what I am’ was very clever….and as in every Panto…there is nothing like a dame…and Lady Gargoyle gave us one with a wonderful sense of comic timing…loved the cherry orchard joke too…and I loved the Prince with a taste for blood from…Tinselvania…Greg Airey kept that accent going all night…and that’s not always easy…

…But I must say Lady Gargoyle’s costumes were particularly great…I’ll never make crab bisque again without thinking of that hat….

Panto is also one of those entertainments that works best if it’s an ensemble effort rather than a series of ‘star turns’ and the cast not only worked well individually they worked well together…and that made this a night to really remember and treasure. It’s not something that happens that often on any stage and when it does it makes something good into something unforgettable.

I’d say go and see it but it’s sold out…but try, try try its worth every penny and all the effort you’ll put in….

The stag is a small theatre…fifty odd seats and the stage is small but as last night proves big things really can happen inside a small space….and I’ll leave your homespun imaginations to weave what you will from that aphorism.

Directed by Paul Taylor – Mills
Designed by David Shields
Lighting designed by Richard Lambert

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