The British are funny about their Christmas traditions; you can tamper with them so far, but no further. It is a time of excess and that goes for the acting as well – no naturalism please, we’re British. It is a brave director who strays too far from the path of righteousness. Sally Cookson is that director. For her the Sleeping Beauty is not a ‘lovely lady’, but a much loved little boy who grows up to the verge of his sixteenth birthday under a beastly curse which has been cast by the nasty, spiteful Fairy Sylvia. Now, the brightly coloured ‘Good Fairies’, all of whom are slightly in awe of and a teensy bit afraid of Sylvia, all look as if they have just come from a meeting of the local women’s Institute. In fact their magic wands are knitting needles stuck through a ball of wool. Unable to undo Sylvia’s magic, which calls for the death of Percy, they manage to commute the curse into something less final.
Gone is the spinning wheel; instead Prince Percy pricks his finger (oh yes, that’s still in of course) on the pin of the large ‘sixteen today’ badge given to him by a cunningly disguised Sylvia who inveigles her way into the confidence of the very trusting Percy by pretending to be one of the castle’s cleaners. Well, no spoiler alert needed to report that that is a complete disaster, not only for Percy, but the whole castle as well, who immediately fall into a deep and protracted sleep – awaiting the time (thanks to the good but slightly less powerful magic of the good fairies) when the Prince and castle will be awakened by true love’s kiss.
In a piece of clever colour-blind casting the agent of the castle’s release from enchantment is young Deilen (Kezrena James), who is searching for ‘the leaf that hangs but never falls’, that her loving grandmother has suggested will bring her happiness. Stumbling upon the sleeping prince she performs some emergency mouth-to-mouth and Bob’s your uncle.
One of the standout performances in a very strong cast is that of Sylvia, played by Stu Goodwin. In one of the best scenes Sylvia, now in the guise of Bo Peep and not to be so easily thwarted, tries to get the young prince and his saviour into a pie. The other (good) fairies save the day by pretending to be Bo Peep’s flock of sheep and –as you would expect – good finally triumphs over evil.
Costume design by Emma Cains has everybody in plus-fours which gives the cast a rather jaunty look in keeping with the overall feeling of the show. King Derek and Queen Vanessa (Joe Hall and Lucy Tuck) are hearty outdoor types who radiate bonhomie throughout the kingdom. Their son, Percy (David Emmings) is a model of trusting sincerity and good humour. Benji Bowers has provided the wonderfully jolly music which threads its way through the show.
This is a show full of invention and fun, which tickles the tradition into a giggling somersault only to land right side up giving us the perfect fillip to the season of good-will. ★★★★☆ Graham Wyles 3rd December 2015
