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Although we have visited the Core Theatre in Solihull at least a couple of times every year this was the first year we went to the pantomime. The Core is a wonderful theatre with a jam-packed line up of shows. We have seen several Cbeebies regulars, incredible Amateur Dramatic shows, as well as the girls’ ballet and school performances. We look forward to the regular David Walliams theatre in the park shows every year as the start of the holidays. Every time we visit we get a warm welcome. So we were all very excited to be invited to see Sleeping Beauty, at The Core Theatre Solihull for the 2018 Pantomime.
Sleeping Beauty is a traditional pantomime with everything you expect from this quintessential Christmas staple. Little Wolf Entertainment’s version of the show had a fresh modern feel. We loved how the character of Rose was feisty and – she drove the action and definitely was not a sappy princess waiting to be rescued. I always feel the lead female is the hardest to get right in a traditional story, but Eva Crawford brought a sweet playfulness to the character and was very endearing. To balance the loveliness was a particularly wicked baddie Carabosse played by Nic Lamont who had a great repartee with the audience. One younger member of the
The best thing about the show for me was the singing. All the cast were wonderful singers and sounded beautiful together. Jessica Singer, as her name suggests has a stunning voice which she uses to sing songs which link the action. The girls particularly loved St John the dragon made by Victorian Model Workshop at Staunton Harold. There is both an adorable baby dragon as well as an unbelievably huge adult dragon.
The costumes and set were sparkly and fabulous, we particularly liked the costumes of the dame Nancy Nightly, a hilarious Mary Poppins like character. Her champagne costume was particularly wonderful and it was lovely that she got a happy ending too.
I felt things really ramped up in the second half of the show. We loved how the forest grew up even in the auditorium. There was a stunning sequence where the prince, played by Kieran Hay, battled a selection of creatures lit only by UV lights. It was so clever and worked brilliantly.
Sleeping Beauty was great fun and filled we all left smiling. You don’t have to travel or pay huge
You can see Sleeping Beauty until Sunday 6 January 2019
There is a relaxed performance on Friday 4 January 2019 where the house lights are left on and there are fewer pyrotechnics.
Ticket prices range from £17-50 to £20. Family offer – 2+2 for £72
Tues 30 – Sat 4 May 2019
Disclaimer: We were given tickets to watch the show for the purposes of this review.
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