Sleeping Beauty – Theatr Clwyd, Mold

Writer: Christian Patterson

Director: Francesca Goodridge and Daniel Lloyd

A larger than life fun fuelled festive feast of frolics with lots of laughter.

As the Theatr Clwyd building under goes its much-anticipated redevelopment, due to be revealed in 2025, its temporary relocation next door to its Big Top Theatre does it no harm by providing a welcomed fresh perspective of its beloved panto.

Christian Patterson makes a welcomed return penning his sixth panto for Theatr Clwyd, and as a seasoned associate with this theatre, it is clear that Patterson knows the audiences well. The script is layered with plenty of familiar jokes, local topical references, slapstick, and a brilliant abundance of fart jokes, the perfect festive fuel for Patterson’s larger than life vibrant characterisations that relish within this context. The talented slick company of ten actor-musos wonderfully embrace their environment with full force, throwing themselves into the foolery elements whilst delivering some incredible range of musical numbers from bands and artists such as Supergrass, AC/DC to Stevie Nicks and Kate Bush.

The main thread of Sleeping Beauty’s story is retained here albeit with some heteronormative aspects removed, including the non-consensual cusanau and the omittance of Prince Charming. This allows for some fun, fresh twists and turns, matching the energy of our headstrong Beauty, brilliantly played by Emma Kinney.

Audience favourite, and panto legend Phylip Harries returns as Nurse Nellie, this time. Despite his 20^th year treading Mold’s boards, his charm hasn’t dulled in the slightest, a seasoned Dame, oozing natural charisma. Ben Locke, recently awarded Best Villain in the UK at the 2023 UK Pantomime Awards, owns it as the evil Mordecai. Locke’s energetic, chameleon like shapeshifting of his character, morphing into various flamboyant, camp forms to pull off his various evil shenanigans, is hilariously fantastic. Pure unapologetic badness worthy of the audience’s boos, supported by strong performances from his devoted cat Fang (Alice McKenna) and dog Snarl (Theo Diedrick).

Patterson’s love of this theatre and its audience is clear in his writing. The danger of moving the production from the comfort of the Anthony Hopkins proscenium to the unfamiliar thrust stage avoids losing any of its magic in how there are plenty of opportunities for the audience to still feel a close part of the festivities and participate in the action. From the ‘12 days of Christmas’ sing-a-long, brilliant in its escalating chaos, to providing some ambiance during a touching rendition of Coldplay’s ‘Fix You’, beautifully sung by Celia Cruwys-Finnigan as the cheeky Muddles, and Dan Bottomley as King Dom.

This fabulous production is framed by Adrian Gee’s set and costume design which is delightful, thoughtful, functional and proudly Welsh. It pulls elements of the story’s themes, such as the sparkly spinning wheels, and the larger staging allows for some real joyful, visually strong entrances; from the emerging striking silhouette of the three Welsh fairies (Ai Kumar, Caitlin Lavagna, Georgina White), to Nurse Nellie looking lush love as she proudly straddles a pink elephant, or in her hilarious Elastigirl superhero stance, all popping under the watchful eye of the giant, sparkly creepy crawly Olwen the Spider (voiced by Sian Gibson).

All aspects of the production is brought together successfully by co-directors Francesca Goodridge and Daniel Lloyd, who do a brilliant job of navigating the scale of the Big Top stage by spreading it thick, corner to corner, with Patterson’s non-stop buffoonery, comedy, farce, and silliness. Annie-Lunnette Deakin – Foster’s choreography and Kaitlin Howard’s fight sequences are showcased to their full width and breadth, resulting in a full-scale spectacle.

Theatr Clwyd achieves a great balance maintaining its traditional values and introducing new ideas and concepts whilst retaining its unique magic and sparkle. An excellent choice for your annual Panto trip.

Runs until 6^th January 2024.