Sleeping Beauty
Harold Pinter Theatre • 27th Dec - 31st Dec
As my last visit to the theatre for 2023, Tuckshop’s production of Sleeping Beauty was most definitely a high note to go out on! Panto is a British theatrical tradition all of its own, and despite having seen quite a few over the years I usually limit myself to just one per festive season, (it turns out that you can actually have too much of a good thing!) and so, whilst I’m not in a position to rate it against the many alternatives that are currently playing around town and across the country, this ‘alternative’ take on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale is a fantastic choice if you are still young at heart but definitely more ‘adult’ of mind, and given that it’s aimed more at the ‘chosen’ family rather than the actual family, you won’t be surprised to read that the innuendos come thick and fast… (that’s one you can have for free!). “Oh no they don’t!”… Oh yes, they bloody do!!
As a Tuckshop production, fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK will recognise many of the queens on stage, and whilst there are references a-plenty to their time on the show, those less versed in who totally ‘fucked it up’ whilst lip-syncing for their life on the show aren’t at too much of a disadvantage, because what surrounds these more specific references is a large slice of more ‘traditional’ bawdy humour that is just as hilarious whether it’s taking a swipe at a real Queen or a drag race queen, (of which they obviously manage both). I must confess to not having seen season five of Drag Race UK at the time of writing, but having been particularly impressed with Kate Butch’s stand-out performance as Queen Camilla, I’m getting right back on it in the new year… there’s definitely a very bright future on the cards for her! Victoria Scone also excels in the role of the wicked Carabosse and, to be fair, all the queens totally throw themselves into this festive slice of highly enjoyable adult nonsense.
It's a fun script from Soho drag queen and Drag Idol winner Miss Moppe and whilst, on the whole, it’s delivered as director Christopher D. Clegg probably intended, there are the occasionally hilarious slip-ups as well as some robust interaction from the audience… but this is drag, and the experience these queens have gained from working countless audiences in rather less salubrious venues than the West End’s Harold Pinter Theatre really shows, as they turn these rather more unpredictable moments into some of the shows funniest! Of course, what would panto be without audience participation, of which there is a lot, both whether intended or unintended it all adds up to a fantastic party atmosphere that the press night audience were well and truly up for. (Being able to bring a bottle of wine to your seat from the bar may have been a contributing factor, but what the hell… it’s Christmas!)
In between the bouts of uncontrollable laughter coming from the couple behind me, I would periodically hear them say to one another, “This is so stupid!”, before once again collapsing into near hysterics. Such a reaction kind of sums the whole evening up for me. This isn’t high art, something the cast not only know but also take great delight in pointing out to the audience, but it is very, very funny and deliciously stupid… it’s also a damned good way to spend a cold winters evening.
Despite the second act becoming noticeably more ‘woolly’ than the first, and the set leaving a lot to the imagination, (even with a few, artfully deployed ‘panto transitions’), there haven’t been many productions this year where I have left with a soar, (if well lubricated) throat as a result of laughing so much and joining in with the festive madness. It’s all a much-needed antidote to the more saccharine aspects of Christmas, and definitely comes highly recommended for those wanting a fantastic fun night out.
★★★★
review: Simon J. Webb