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Graham Clark
Music Features Writer
@Maxximum23Clark
8:43 AM 9th January 2025
arts

Sleeping Beauty Awakens At The Muni, Colne

This is Mark Slowey as Queen Ruby and Chris Johnson as the Castle Clown
Photo: Muni Theatre, Colne
This is Mark Slowey as Queen Ruby and Chris Johnson as the Castle Clown Photo: Muni Theatre, Colne
Wisely, the Colne panto at the Muni Theatre runs during the first two weeks of the new year, and for 2025, Sleeping Beauty continues to light up the dark days of winter, bringing cheer to young and old with an enjoyable and entertaining show where the six performers—four dancers and two circus acts—give a refreshing slant on the whole panto experience.

Some of the one-liners from Chris Johnson as the Castle Clown might have gone over the heads of the younger members of the audience, though his own stage chemistry with Mark Slowey as Queen Ruby provided a perfect double act. Between them, Slowey modelled numerous outrageous outfits that complemented the jokes.

Lauren McCrory as Princess Beauty
Photo: Muni Theatre, Colne
Lauren McCrory as Princess Beauty Photo: Muni Theatre, Colne
Lauren McCrory sparked as Princess Beauty and, given her fine singing voice, had many opportunities to showcase it, especially with A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman.

Both Sean Smith as the Prince and Rosie Essex as Carabosse took time to settle into their roles, with Smith at first seemingly a caricature of the Prince, and Essex with any hint of evil being resigned to the sidelines. Thankfully, theyfound their footing in the second half, delivering stellar performances more in line with the characters they were portraying.

Rosie Winter as The Fairy, provided a strong contrast to Carabosse with a welcoming, warm, and fun personality.

The traditional routines of The Twelve Days of Christmas and the ghost scene, both staples of any enjoyable pantomime, received some of the best laughs of the evening.

Add to that a larger-than-life dragon, an acrobat who scaled the heights with a set of chairs, outstanding choreography, and songs made famous by Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, and Michael Jackson, and you have a panto that Colne can be proud of.

Runs until Sunday 19th January
More informatiom here.