Sleeping Beauty
Theatre Severn
November 29th – January 12th
Take a very full theatre comprising of families and incredibly excited children, a plethora of Christmas jumpers and the excited sound of laughter as showtime approaches, and you have probably discovered Theatre Severn at Panto time. This year as every year the crowd waited excited and full of Christmas spirit as time approached to release Evolution Pantomimes new one, Sleeping Beauty. One is pleased to announce to the thousands and thousands that will attend, you won't be disappointed.
.Featuring the ever-popular Brad Fitt as Nurse Nelly and Tommy J Rollason as Jangles, the two navigate through an hilarious script that set us all up for Christmas. Princess Aurora played by the beautiful Lauren Lane and evil being dished up by the mean and spiteful Carabosse. All that was needed was the handsome Prince and on stepped. Prince Michael (Christian Southway) All glued together beautifully by Fairy Moonbeam to keep the action moving forward. She was great.
So is it as funny as usual? Well, you might ask. This reviewer thinks so and wiped tears of laughter away some of it is so incredibly funny one believes it to be theatrical genius. Bradd Fitt has interestingly enough been affiliated into the, Royal Order Of Water Rats, a great entertainment charity that has made an impact worldwide. It is a great honour to be asked and reflects on the talent of the new enrolee. But of course Shrewsbury Folk already know what a Fantastically talented entertainer he is. Maybe it was unusual to put him in a male prison suit and a Harrison Ford look-a-like costume to push home the joke about two Velociraptor that appear. It was a bold move and maybe even a gamble to take Dame out of her Damely clothing, but Theatre Severn audiences are used to Brad now and just back everything he does to the hilt. Of course, no wonder.
Tommy J Rollason plays a blinder. He is the like the "Buttons," of the piece and Jangles can bring instant brightness. So the children know the dark bits may be scary but Jangles isn’t too far away to tell them its all fun and will work out in the end. It is a skilful role and Tommy J has it hands down. Add the fact that he is a trick cyclist and a juggler, and one knows he is an ideal casting as ever..
Dionne Ward- Anderson just found the right sort of mischief in her character Fairy Moonbeam and faced her responsibility with aplomb as did Gemma Sutton as the evil fairy calaboose. She was deliciously evil and got the boos and hisses just right.
The Villagers, who were also dancers filled the scenes beautifully and every single member of them was bringing something to the party. Aged from between around eight up to adult I watched and none of them stood around looking lost. They were called on to act and react to dance and to sing. Very impressive.
Choreography was astonishing. Some moves didn’t look possible and not only the dancers but principals too moved impressively. Some lovely little choreography pieces really gleamed in the already stunning spectacle. Great work there from Chris Hall.
The design was so impressive perhaps one of the best designed show I have seen from Evolution, it was just perfect and the changes of scenes were totally seamless. Designers Terry Parsons, Michelle Marden and Stuart Relph have done a great job.
One always enjoys the live music aspect of the panto it creates such a classy atmosphere. Matthew Hall as Musical Director and keyboards has a great musical score. From the little touches like a Swannee whIstle or a wood block speed sound to the great show stoppers the orchestra sounded amazing. One feels the audience enjoyed the re-written classic pop songs all cleverly changed to fit the plot: .
All in all this show has all you need from a panto. Brilliantly using ancient conventions combined with a fairy tale setting and modern day references, it makes this show not only good but brilliant. Once again or Christmas 2024 Theatre Severn have knocked it out of the park. A truly great night out.
This is a Five Star Review
Photography by Pamela Raith
Sofia is a successful playwright living in Shrewsbury. After graduating from Wolverhampton University in theatre. Sofia went on to become an actor and film maker. Her first play was published in 2015 and her plays have been seen all around the world. She is also the instigator of the popular concerts, The Sound Of Shrewsbury Folk. She has been writing with loveshrewsbury for 13 years and loves Theatre Severn and all she sees there.
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