UK Theatre Network

3 December - 16 January

Sleeping Beauty  


The Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch

by Nicholas Pegg

music and lyrics by Carol Sloman

Directed by Matt Devitt

“Don’t be silly, Silly Billy!” still rings in my ears after this thoroughly enjoyable performance of Sleeping Beauty by cut to the chase accompanied by children from local stage schools at the Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch.

The tone was immediately set by Simon Jessop as William Sillium, otherwise known as Silly Billy, bearing a vague resemblance to Frank Spencer.  Jessop did a good job of warming up the audience, instructing on when and what to shout.  There was no lack of audience participation, first on the agenda was to single out an unsuspecting adult to harass, the participant was a very willing John, who was given a pink fluffy headband to wear and some lines to shout, to the squealing joy of all children in close vicinity.

Chris MacDonnell’s Nanny Clutterbuck was a delight in an assortment of outrageously ridiculous costumes.  She delivered one-liners and song intros that only a pantomime dame can get away with.  She occasionally threw one up for the adults; you had to be pretty sharp to catch them, but when they landed, they landed well, along with the handfuls of sweets thrown into the audience.  The kids were in a frenzy before the second scene.

Participation was encouraged throughout and this performance fulfilled all the requirements of a good pantomime.  Calls of, ‘Behind you!’ And  ‘Oh no it isn’t.’ were not just limited to the younger audience as plates were dropped and smashed, and faces landed in cakes.  The good Fairy, Forget-Me-Not (Lucy Thackeray) was gladly helped in her need to remember names. Tom Clutterbuck (Elliot Harper), the thigh slapping love interest of the sleeping princess, Aurora (Sarah Scowen) performed a heroic sword fight sequence with the bad Fairy Carabosse (Jane Milligan) over her spell book.  The audience were employed as allies of the brave group who were crossing oceans and mountains in order to find a way of waking up the princess from her hundred-year sleep.  The spell book was passed between the audience as Carabosse fought to get it back. The intrepid group were eventually rewarded for their efforts, as they found the spell and were helped back to the castle by an extremely impressive dragon, (I was almost frightened). The boos and hisses and overwhelming heckling helped to rid the world of the evil Carabosse.  I was enchanted by the puppet show, illustrating the characters’ journey back to the castle on the blackened stage and stunned by the flying dragon as it passed overhead, carrying the characters on its back.

This is truly where cut to the chase shine, using their musical experience and sense of fun  Jane Milligan’s powerful voice carried along a great number, backed by the children and Sarah Scowen and Elliot Harper performed a couple of coming of age duets beautifully. The dance routines, especially King Boris’s Tango style dance with Nanny Clutterbuck in his attempts to woo her, were highly entertaining.

The Queen's theatre showed their commitment to and their familiarity with their audience.  Children from  the local schools were mentioned as well as individuals who were celebrating birthdays.

This was a fun filled evening that was certainly not just for the kids, as long as you unleash the inner child and lose your inhibitions and have a go at screaming at the top of your voice…’Don’t be silly, Silly Billy!’ you’ll have a ball…go on.