REVIEW: Sleeping Beauty at Rhyl Pavilion

Dec 15 2008 By Justine Bailey

THERE'S nothing better in the world than watching a child buzzing with delight and I had the pleasure of witnessing just that on Friday afternoon when I took my five-year-old son to the opening of Sleeping Beauty at Rhyl’s Pavilion Theatre.

If success was measured in laughter then this production would be awarded a massive thumbs up. It captured his full attention from start to finish, so much so in fact that he forgot completely about the big bag of chocolates he had excitedly packed in my handbag before we left the house. He was on his feet booing, shouting, clapping and singing along - the cast certainly got the audience interaction they were after, and not just from my Jacob.

Even the adults seemed to be loving every minute. I have watched pantos in the past and cringed at the corny jokes, but this production gets the balance just right. I found Silly Billy (John Pritchard) to be annoying at times, overplaying the fool role, but the kids seemed to love every second he was on stage.

Screen and stage veteran Ruth Madoc made a fantastic bad fairy, 90s singer Sonia a sweet good fairy and Rebecca Trehearn, winner of S4C’s Waw Ffactor, the perfect Sleeping Beauty. But for me the star of the show was Charles Burden as Nanny Glucose, an excellent performer. It is no wonder he is back at the Pavilion by popular demand.

The Gay Harris Dancers who appeared in Friday’s opening show also deserve a huge pat on the back. I was sat by a few of their nervous mums, but they needn’t have worried, all the girls were fantastic. As far as I could see there weren’t any mistakes and every one of them looked like they were loving every minute.

This show has everything you look for in a panto, and a few extras on top - Jacob was mesmerised by the computer generated animation. I would urge anyone looking for a bit of fun over the festive period to book tickets to see Sleeping Beauty now - if you don’t you’ll miss out on a top performance. The show runs until January 10. Tickets from £6-£14, call the box office on 01745 330000 or log on to www.rhylpavilion.co.uk