Oh yes it is! It’s Panto season, and there is so much choice out there with a myriad of shows with silly titles – but for pure entertainment and fun you must see ’Sleeping Beauty Takes a Prick!’ at the Charing Cross Theatre.
Written by by Jon Bradfield and Martin Hooper with original songs by Jon Bradfield, and directed by Andrew Beckett, these three are powerhouses of gay theatre, having written and directed shows for many years at the now closed Above the Stag Theatre. Now they done and did it – create a Panto that is laugh out loud funny, and entertaining, with a cast that wins us over (yes even the bad guy!).
We are transported to the country of Slutvia where Prince Beauty is about to celebrate his 21st birthday with a ball, however, his widowed mother Queen Gertrude is on the prowl for a husband, and Prince Beauty is also on the prowl to find a man he can call his own. As the Prince will soon be crowned King, the dastardly Prince Camembert has plans of his own to take over the Kingdom, he will stop at nothing to get what he wants! And Prince Beauty’s search for a man is answered, and falls from the sky – literally, and his name is Zupp, who arrives on a spaceship! Throw in more panto mayhem and mischeif, while the jokes, most of them dirty and filthy, come at you fast and furious! The set is more than memorable, but it’s the cast that seals the deal, especially Matthew Baldwin as Queen Gertrude – he’s just fab, funny and is great at ad libbing jokes when needed! Give him the Olivier Award now!
This show has been described as ‘sublimely silly and staggeringly rude fabulous festive treat bursting with big laughs, sensational songs, glorious designs and all the panto trimmings,’ but that is only half of it, there’s lots more to it too!
The rest of the cast include Nikki Biddington, Natalia Brown, Matthew Gent, Myles Hart, Chris Lane, Tom Mann, Jordan Stamatiadis, Fin Walton. Audiences are loving this show, including Joan Collins who attended on press night! It’s the only Panto you need this holiday season, nothing even comes close! Treat yourself, and your loved ones, to this show, but perhaps leave the littles ones with a baby sitter – as this is adult panto at it’s best!
Sleeping Beauty Takes a Prick is playing until January 13th, 2024 charingcrosstheatre.co.uk