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★★★★
December has been such a busy month so far, with lots of Christmas shows opening across Kent and London. This year for the first time I was invited to the Tenterden Panto, which is based at the Sinden Theatre and written and directed by Matty Hurst for SparkLive Pantomimes. Tenterden is on the other side of the county to me, but I was keen to visit a new venue in the area, watching ‘Sleeping Beauty’ on its first public performance.
Initial thoughts
In terms of narrative, this version of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ is a classic good versus evil story, which starts on the eve of Aurora’s birthday and is set in the aptly named kingdom of Tentonia. Fairy Sparkle (Lottie Coates) is the godmother figure, protecting Princess Aurora (Chloe Huggins) from the evil fairy Carabosse (Joseph Dennington), who has fallen for the visiting Prince William of Wittersham (Louis Doran). Princess Aurora’s family figures are Dame Victoria Sponge (Campbell Glazier) and Muddles (Jordan Newman), who look out for the young Royal and help to plan her birthday bash. However, like any iteration of ‘Sleeping Beauty’, Princess Aurora needs to watch out for the cunning evil fairy who has a plan of their own. At times I found there to be more of a focus on the audience interaction elements than the actual plot itself, but overall I really enjoyed the show.
Community first
The Sinden is a 290-seat venue on the site of the Homewood School in Tenterden, and something that immediately stood out is how this panto is of a different scale to what I have experienced previously. It has all of the excitement of a large production, but sits in a small venue and has a community focus. The catchphrase is clearly “the next best thing” and the audience joined in with this on various occasions, validating the fact that this is a local tradition. There are lots of jokes about the Ashford panto, a section dedicated to the ‘Legendary Tenterden Ghost Gag Bench’ and anecdotes about life in the area, which all appear to be annual staples. The ensemble is also made up of dancers from the DNC Academy of Dance and The Creative Dance Company. It is great that young people have an opportunity to be part of this show, working with six, clearly very supportive actors.
Strength in the cast
‘Sleeping Beauty’ doesn’t have physical set pieces, instead featuring sparkling scenery by Martin Wilson/Scenic Pantomimes, spectacular costumes by Penny Richardson and bold lighting design by Matt Ridgway. These elements create a dazzling onstage experience, but it is the strength of the performances which make this production. Campbell Glazier leads the company with boundless energy and they are responsible for taking the cast to places they have not gone before, which at times seemed to be hilariously off-script. I got the impression that every performance could be quite unique, largely down to the camaraderie between the Dame, Prince William and Muddles.
Joseph Dennington is a natural as the evil Carabosse, taking on the villainous role with ease. Having now looked at the show’s programme, I have since learnt that this is Joseph’s professional debut and they are definitely a performer to look out for. Their version of ‘I Put a Spell on You’ was a brilliant way to close out act one. Any Disney fans in the audience would have been thrilled to see the inclusion of the ‘Hocus Pocus’ anthem.
Two hours of festive fun in Tenterden
‘Sleeping Beauty’ is a fantastic family show for the Christmas season, from the comedy skits to the subtle musical theatre references. The writing is a highlight, paving the way for some really unexpected and amusing moments. Not every pun or joke lands, but on the whole it is very entertaining. The Tenterden Panto is based at the Sinden Theatre until 31st December, with tickets available via the venue’s website.
Thanks for reading my blog today.
Love Kat xxxx
*My ticket for ‘Sleeping Beauty’ was gifted in exchange for an unbiased review.
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