Christmas has arrived at the Torch Theatre in Milford Haven, with their production of the popular fairytale Sleeping Beauty. Artistic Director Peter Doran takes an original classic and updates it for a modern audience, adding extra magic and original songs.
The characters we know and love are there: the Prince and Princess, Fairy Godmother, King, Jester and Pantomime Dame, providing magic, mayhem and plenty of laughs. The Festive production, which runs for just under two hours, makes every effort to involve the young audience (theatre’s most hard to please) encouraging them to react in true panto style to the characters’ highs and lows. There are some nice touches including Princess Rose’s invite to her birthday party as well as references to local places making the production feel personal and authentic.
The set (designed by Sean Crowley) is a medieval castle with towers at the edge of the stage that the central characters later use to full effect. As the show reaches its penultimate scene, the upstairs of the castle is revealed. Marble steps lead to a room where Maleficent waits with a spinning wheel for the unsuspecting Rose. In a dream-like sequence, beautifully lit with burnt orange against a night’s sky, Rose is lured to her fate.
From the beginning, the show is colourful and enjoyable, with the Fairy God Mother (Cler Stephens) setting the scene at the Christening of Princess Rose. The princess is asleep in her cot, with an adult head and two fingers for hands, to humorous effect.
In a pink floaty dress, with glitter make-up and a wand, Fairy talks and sings in rhyme. This rhyme aspect runs throughout the production, with the added fun of character names such as Bing the King, Fester the Jester, Fanny the Nanny (producing hilarious outbursts from school children) and Tupper the washer upper. This is great for educational value, as are references to spelling and play on words. Maleficent is the only character without a rhyme to her name, highlighting her position as the Villain.
The star of the show, Fanny the Nanny, (played by Torch favourite Dion Davies) is the ultimate pantomime Dame. Fanny first appears to the blast of Aerosmith’s Dude looks like a lady and conjures screams of delight from the children. Strutting about the stage, in a rather large pink corset dress and overdone make up and wig, she cracks jokes and shouts orders in a valleys accent, entertaining both adults and children. Made redundant on the eve of her ward’s birthday she dramatically threatens to leave, with children’s protestations echoing in her wake. The audience immediately love her and she is at the forefront of the action, providing relief in the face of the drama. In the final scene, she escapes into the audience causing riot throughout the theatre when her affections turn to an unsuspecting male school teacher. Davies’ portrayal of the nanny, evokes a style similar to Matt Lucas and he even references a line from the sketch show Little Britain.
Maleficent (Francesca Goodridge) is spectacular in her portrayal of the cold, calculating fairy who will stop at nothing to get her revenge on a kingdom that has rejected her. Maleficent’s deep red costume and hair emphasise her relation to the devil as do references to fire and mythical creatures. The audience immediately love to hate her. In the second Act, she tells her story, through an original song, proving a powerful voice as well as stage presence.
Miriam O’Brien plays Princess Rose with the perfect amount of sweetness and curiosity. Although she is beautiful and adored by all, she still wants to explore and despite her father’s protestations, spends time with those below stairs. She is independent in her desire to meet someone she really loves, not just be married off to the nearest prince.
Joseph Robinson is Roberto. He first appears as a young prince, happily mistaken for a kitchen assistant instead of being forced to marry off as soon as possible. The chemistry with his co-star is particularly evident in their duet ‘I think I’m in love’ which showcases their vocal range. In a role which offers limited opportunity for development, Robinson performs well.
Sion Ifans is the loveable Fester the Jester, providing the laughs alongside the Nanny and attempting to protect and serve the princess. His unnatural shape, berated manner and poor jokes only endear him to the audience.
Gareth Wyn Griffiths plays King Bing, Rose’s stuffy Father who is extremely protective and obsessed with money. Griffiths is a great physical actor, portraying the king as animated and awkward. He livens up in the final scenes and is particularly entertaining when tricking his staff, attempting to hide his joy at his daughter’s choice of man (‘he’s loaded’) and celebrating the marriage by leading the cast on a rather quirky song.
The lighting from Ceri James is simple but effective used when necessary to highlight the moods and fates of the characters. There are lots of original songs and performances throughout the pantomime (credit to musical director James Williams) which help shape the characters as well as entertain the audience. Piano music and tolling bells emphasise a change in atmosphere when Maleficent takes to the stage, with green lighting and smoke for dramatic effect.
The effects are most interesting in the second half of the show, when Maleficent threatens the future happiness of Rose and Roberto. In an attempt to thwart the couples reunion, she sets a trap of heavy thorns and later a fire-breathing dragon. Images are projected onto a screen on stage with Maleficent watching from her tower. This adds something extra to the dramatics of the pantomime.
As the production draws to a close, the characters sing a final song to the audience. Based on the theme of pheasants, the song experiments with the idea of rhyme and tongue twisters. This bizarre final scene seems to fit the playful nature of the pantomime. It didn’t fail to raise a smile, as much of the production did.
This Christmas, the Torch has brought the magic of a true classic to Pembrokeshire, offering humour, drama and never-ending fun.
Runs until December 31, 2016
http://torchtheatre.co.uk/events/sleeping-beauty/
Can’t wait!!!!