Review: Sleeping Beauty, Ipswich Regent
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a good olde pantomime and this year’s production Sleeping Beauty at the Ipswich Regent Theatre is full of festive fun for all the family.
The wicked fairy, Carabosse has put an evil curse on the baby Princess Auroa, that before her 18th birthday the young royal will prick her finger on a spinning wheel and die… With her mother, Queen Camilla banning all spinning wheels from the kingdom and with Aurora’s birthday just days away, it’s looking hopeful that Carabosse’s curse will fail, but this villain makes an unwanted appearance just before the party…
Can Queen Camilla, the hapless Muddles and Fairy Forty winks safe Princess Aurora from the curse? Will the princess meet her prince? And are we headed for a happy ending…?
Sleeping Beauty at the Ipswich Regent is a really fun performance, with much audience participation from the off…. Oh, yes there is!
Fairy Forty Winks (Freya Karlettis) bursts onto the stage to let us in on the plot and there is an amazing musical number to get us started, and the fun just kept coming…
Jazzy Phoenix is perfectly cast as Princess Aurora. She is just wonderful and the actress has the most amazingly powerful voice. Another set of strong vocals comes in the form of AJ Jenks as Prince Sheeran. With guitar in hand, he puts in a great performance and there’s a fabulous duet with him and the Princess.
Mike McClean brings the comedy to this production as muddles. He never disappoints. Gavin Ashbarry returns to the Regent for a second year as the Dame, this time in the form of Queen Camilla, And the double act with muddles is just hilarious.
Every pantomime needs it’s villain and Vicki Michele is fabulous as the evil Carabosse. And, judging by the loud boos coming from the audience the children watching agreed.
Her henchmen, BGT’s Twist and Pulse, were equally as good. Not only can this pair dance, they can sing too and also make for a very funning double act.
This production of Sleeping Beauty is full of madcap panto fun, some great musical numbers, some amazing special effects (don’t forget to pick up your 3D specs on the way in) and… A Dame on roller skates….!
It really does have something for all of the family.
Sleeping Beauty is at the Ipswich Regent Theatre until Sunday 31st December. To book tickets visit www.ipswichtheatres.co.uk
Review: Wendy Cook, Ipswich24 Magazine
Pictures: Enchanted Entertainment
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