A flying Dame, a self-obsessed Prince and a dog in a starring role are just some of the ingredients that make up this version of Sleeping Beauty that doesn't just offer a twist on the traditional fairytale but pretty much wrings out all the cloying bits.
The dog Sammie - not a real one - is a central feature of this story, written by Gary Kitching; being the much-loved pet (played by Jude Nelson) of the no-nonsense princess Briar Rose - and don't expect any romantic sparks between her and the prince, the arrogant Chad of Middles-boroughly, when she meets him.
Panto has free reign to mess with the fairytale format of course and this show - by an entirely new team at Gala Theatre this year - adds some very funny touches in its breaks with tradition. We all know the story of the princess cursed to sleep for 100 years and here evil witch Karen - which she insists is pronounced Car-en - comes up with the threat of a prick from a rose thorn because nobody knows what a spindle is.
Read more: Guide to pantomimes around the North East
And, after the palace have secretly conspired to kept her away from rose bushes all her life, Briar Rose (played by Chloe Jane Millar) asks, quite reasonably, why they didn't just tell her the risk in the first place and she wouldn't have gone near them. The cast are all on fine form, from Lauren Waine, playing Hester the Jester - the character at the heart of the show who has the audience on-side from the start - to Steve Byron as the gruff-voice Dame Nanny Fartoften (which she did).
The sight of the Dame in flight then left hanging above the stage has to be one of the funniest sights in the show. I also loved Benjamin Storey's self-loving prince, so impressed with his own looks that he's inspired to write poetry. I'd have liked to see more of him.
A cracking live band keeps up the lively pace with dips into a wide range of songs, with an early one being Best Day of My Life, sung with gusto by King Archibald of Durham-ion, played by Jacob Anderton who was last year's Robin Hood, and even a snatch of Let's Get Ready to Rumble thrown in. Sets and costumes are bold and sparkling and the dancers in the cast are excellent, delivering slick routines and some remarkable back flip acrobatics.
The chance of audience participation comes well into the first act. There seemed a lot of polite children on the night I was there, raising their hands in response to a question rather than shouting out.
But save for a couple of moments when they seemed a bit nonplussed or perhaps wrong-footed by the story - as when the princess is awoken from her sleep by an unexpected kiss - things warmed up more and more over the course of the show, with booing escalating on sight of former Emmerdale actress Zoe Lambert's brilliant witch, commanding the stage as a wicked vision in glittering green.
That flying apparatus is made good use of, with Karen's cohort of flying badgers - yes, badgers - taking to the air and then a soaring finale by Hester. This ending is a belter - literally - as Waine leads the cast in a super-powerful rendition of All I Want For Christmas. It's a lovely moment to end just the kind of show we need to give us a boost right now.
Sleeping runs at Gala Theatre in Durham until January 8. For tickets call the box office on 03000 266 600 or book here.
Read Next
