Sleeping Beauty Review – York’s pun-packed, crowd-pleasing romp has a double helping of fairy dust | Bantu season

ADoes anyone remember the part in Sleeping Beauty with the velociraptor named Kevin? Me too. But the incongruous dinosaur friend is just one of the wonderfully silly additions to this fantasy tale, along with a silly classroom routine, some prancing ghouls and a regiment of toy soldiers brought to life.

Now in the fifth year of its current format, helmed by veteran Paul Hynde as writer and producer, York Theater Royal’s festive show is looking solidly together. It’s a reliable crowd-pleaser and family-friendly, with a series of familiar set pieces to delight those who return year after year. We know there will be a regression scene, a ghost bench, a pun-filled comedy routine, and a pre-interval scene. Part of the joy lies in waiting for these moments and wondering what new change they will bring.

The secret ingredient is Theater Royal favorite Robin Simpson as the lady – in this case, Nurse Nellie, protector of the three-times widowed Princess Aurora. While some of the show’s jokes about things going wrong feel somewhat rehearsed, there’s always an unpredictable twinkle in Simpson’s eye and he’s at his best when he’s exploiting real mistakes. This year’s usual segment of audience interaction with a male spectator who catches the lady’s attention lands with a particularly brilliant gag, leaving the cast and audience gasping for breath between laughter.

There’s strong supporting work from the return of Tommy Carmichael as Jangles in Buttons style, plus entertaining double work from CBeebies’ Jennie Dale and veteran musical theater actress Jocasta Almgill as good and bad fairies respectively. But what little is lost in this show – apart from a quick sprinkling of easy cracks in Hal and Nigel Farage – is the distinctive local and topical flavor of pantomime at its best.