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Try explaining panto to someone who is not familiar with this very traditional festive phenomenon!
If you ask AI it says it “refers to a specific, comedic Christmas theatre show based on fairy tales with songs, slapstick, and audience participation”. By that measure, this year’s panto, “Sleeping Beauty” at the New Theatre in Cardiff ticks all the boxes.
As we have come to expect the production values are high with stunning sets and lavish costumes. As always there is an impressive cast. Mike Doyle returns for his 34th year in Pantomime and it is difficult to imagine a New Theatre panto without him as the Dame. His easy rapport with the audience and his apparent delight at performing never seems to waver. This year he is joined by Jack Ryan as Muddles and Gethin Jones as Prince Gethin of Gabalfa but the revelation was Owain Wyn Evans as The Spirit of Pantomime whose comic timing, sense of fun, singing voice and drumming skills were all impeccable.
Emma Kirk, as Princess Aurora, was a perfect pantomime princess albeit arguably underused and Jalisa Phoenix-Roberts stole every scene that she was in as the wicked sorceress Carabosse.
The narrative is sparse to say the least and the show essentially consisted of a number of big set pieces tenuously linked by the Sleeping Beauty story and innumerable fart jokes. These set pieces were the most successful element of the show. The annual “if I were not in pantomime” sketch looses none of its charm by being so familiar and entirely predictable and the cast’s obvious pleasure and sense of fun at taking part in it is infectious.
Running at an hour and three quarters including the interval, the panto seemed shorter than in previous years. This is no bad thing, especially on a school night when so many young children were in attendance. However, the lack of a big set piece finale was disappointing – there was a wedding scene but accompanied simply by the revival of a song from earlier in the show and a drumming solo from Wyn Evans.
There was one joke that fell flat – when Doyle referred to those experiencing loneliness at Christmas the punchline was that he needed to borrow their chairs because they wouldn’t need them which felt entirely tone-deaf and out of keeping with the general sense of fun and joyfulness of the show. That was the only dud note in a fast paced, funny and silly evening which is exactly what a panto should be!
Mike Doyle
Emma Kirk and Gethin Jones
Jack Ryan
Jack Ryan and Mike Doyle
Owain Wyn Jones and Jalisa Phoenix-Roberts
https://trafalgartickets.com/new-theatre-cardiff/en-GB/event/pantomime/sleeping-beauty-tickets
Until January 4
