Shone Productions' Sleeping Beauty shines on stage as Colne Muni Theatre reawakens

Shut for a number of months, the Muni is back brighter than ever, and what better way to showcse its superb facelift than the timeless classic Sleeping Beauty.

Running until Sunday, January 19th Sleeping Beauty from Shone Productions Ltd really does shine thanks to a small but tremendously energetic and talented cast headed by Lauren McCrory in the title role.

Lauren’s lovely voice and bubbly persona lend themselves perfectly to our heroine, who is ably assisted by Chris Johnson as Chris the Clown and his partner in crime, or rather mother, Mark Slowey as Queen Ruby.

Mark, who also directs the production, provides the laughs with his dry, droll lines alongside Chris, whose energetic slapstick mayhem was a hit with the kids.

There were enough jokes of a certain variety – above the heads of children – that also kept the adults entertained throughout with Mark and Chris the purveyors.

A dashing Sean Smith as the handsome Prince won the heart of Sleeping Beauty and plenty of the audience no doubt while Rosie Essex menaced delightfully as the evil Carabosse. Her mirror reflection was The Fairy, casting good spells and good cheers on her fellow cast members and the audience alike.

Finally, I have never been to a panto with acrobats before but that’s exaclty what audiences can expect with this production, courtesy of Ismail Khazali and Lucy Gibbs. Ismail and Lucy really did have the audience gasping and peering between fingers with their daredevil antics.

This reworking of Sleeping Beauty, which combines elements of the classic tale with a modern twist, comes from the pen of James Shone, the founder of Shone Productions.

This is a non-stop, laughter-filled traditional panto – with this high-flying acrobatics literally thrown in for good measure – thay will surely be a delight to young and old, and a perfect winter-warmer in this frostiest of months.