|
|
|
|
|
Sleeping Beauty Malvern Theatres ***** Malvern Theatres’ Christmas pantomime,
Sleeping Beauty, is a visual extravaganza. The return of Mark James,
Malvern’s funny man, once again brings warmth and crazy humour to
enliven the romantic story of the beautiful princess and her dashing
prince. The evil Carabosse curses the princess at her birth. She will die if she pricks her finger and the last remaining spinning wheel in the kingdom is the ultimate danger. Hence her father’s overprotective control which prompts her teenage desire to escape. Her guardian angel and the dashing Prince Vincent
battle on her behalf to counter the evil curses and ensure the
traditional happy conclusion. The fairy story and the traditional elements of
pantomime are here elevated by a stunning visual feast. The beautiful
and tasteful costumes (Elizabeth Dennis) and the fabulous scenery are
complemented by some outstanding special (visual) effects with
principals flying on trapezes with varied projections. The lighting and
the projections were excellent. This aspect of the show was particularly
impressive. Ellie Dadd is the beautiful and charming Princess
Rose, and George Barber her handsome Prince Vincent. They sang
powerfully and well together and individually. They danced and moved
well too. The pantomime dames, Nanny Nora (Philip Arran)
and Carabosse (Jordan Lee Davies) brought the usual humour and menace
respectively, Mark Llewelyn Evans was an excellent King with his Welsh
accent and powerful voice. Shani Cantor (Fairy Snowfall) is in effect
also the narrator with her rhyming summary of the story, keeping us up
to speed with the time shifts etc. But it is Mark James (as Chester the Jester) who
steals the show with the Malvern audience with his usual gags, crazy
antics and jolly rapport with the audience. The kids love him to bits,
we all do. As usual the music (Tom Self) and the
choreography (Cameron MacDonald) bring a vital contribution to the show.
The professional dancers were delightful, strong and well supported by
the children from the Cecilia Hall Dance Centre. It was lovely to see a full theatre thoroughly
enjoying the entertainment. It is a lively, slick and colourful show.
Some of the risqué jokes were gratuitous in a family show, but the whole
evening was a great success. The pantomime runs through to the New Year.
Tickets will be scarce. Tim Crow 13-12-24 |
|
|
|
