Reviews

Sleeping Beauty (Ipswich, New Wolsey Theatre)

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28 November 2012

Peter Rowe‘s Christmas tradition for
the New Wolsey Theatre has long been a succession of rock ‘n’ roll
pantomimes. This treatment has usually worked very well, though the
2012 take on the story of Sleeping Beauty is
less successful. We begin plump in the middle of the Victorian era –
1866 to be as precise as Rowe specifies – which of course cues the script to
land its characters right in the Swinging Sixties after the interval passage of 100 years.

That gives designer Diego Pitarch the
chance to go to town with variations on the ubiquitous Carnaby Street
and Mary Quant dress style and the DayGlo stage costumes affected
by the likes of the Beatles and Elvis Presley, not to mention their fans and imitators. The basic set itself is
more muted in tone, though infected with a whole gallery of clocks.
There’s a clever nod in the direction of 19th century stage costumes
in the bustled outfits sported by Fairy Fanciful (Esther Biddle)
and Morgana (Karen Mann).

Rowe has presented Fanciful with an
apprentice, Fredericka. Sarah Mahoney makes this Mallory Towers
escapee a whirlwind of pigtails and mis-matched socks, wielding her
wand as though it was a hockey-stick. She’s the best-written
character in the whole piece. Our heroine is Princess Susie, with
whom Lily Howard does as much as is possible; the prince who
rescues her turns out to the the pleasant-enough foundling Simon
Steadfast (Peter Manchester) brought up by Will Kenning‘s
rough-edged Dame Taffeta Trott.

Director Rob Salmon makes full use of
the theatre’s grave-traps and, of course, a New Wolsey pantomime
wouldn’t be the same without a full complement of rod puppet
livestock – the hard-working stage managers and crew thoroughly
deserve their own round of applause. All the cast step easily from
spotlighted performer to instrumentalist and vocalist. The best
numbers are “Happy birthday, sweet sixteen” and Simon’s
prize song “Stand by me”. Sean Kingsley‘s King Camelot
displays tap-dancing ability as well as a tonsorial variation on Don
Quixote.