"Sleeping Beauty" by Talegate Theatre.

Mountsorrel Memorial Centre (MMC).

It seems to be one of the most popular pantomimes to be performed this year, but every production tells the story in quite a different way. This production has that lovely modern feel about it while keeping the elements of the traditional storyline.

I've only been to the MMC once before, last June, and the amount of shows now being performed at this wonderful little complex has grown, especially if you look at the amount of flyers advertising upcoming shows at the venue on the wall inside. And quite rightly so that it's becoming a named place to perform at because it's a beautiful smaller scale venue.

I've never heard of Talegate Theatre before but if this show is a window to their talents, then this company is one to watch for going forward.

The Dame in this production is called Queenie and is played by Danny Mills, who is also the Company Manager. Every Dame that I've seen over this year's festive period have been very different, and rightly so, which is why they are all memorable. Danny's experience in the field of Damedom is very evident. The confidence that he brings to this character is wonderful, the voice is great and his management of the audience with participation is perfect, never allowing them to get off with just a half-cocked call and response session. Panto performance is different at each one, depending on the audience as well as being caught in the set curtains, which gave us chance to see Danny's ad-libbing skills, and always in character. I must also say that I loved "The Traitors" scene with Queenie as Claudia Winkleman.

Princess Aurora - the beauty that falls to sleep - is played by Grace Gauld and makes her professional debut in this role. There's an accent there and I wasn't sure if that was for the character or whether Grace herself has an accent - I'll probably never know. Very believable pairing with Aurora and the Prince, and they look good together, as well as sounding good together.

Prince Valentine is played by Ashton Peat, who is also making his professional debut in this production. Here you have a handsome lad who looks the part of the Prince, has a very soulful voice, reminding me ever so slightly of early Terence Trent D'Arby. Solo singing is very easy on the ear - that is a compliment by the way - and when he duets with Grace on "A Million Dreams" from "The Greatest Showman" they both make you sit up and appreciate the sound that make as one of the best duets I've heard in panto land 2025. Not only can Ashton play the strong leading man with a lovely comedy feel, he also camps it up in the section where the gargoyle is "behind you" and picks off the group one by one. 

Molevola, the evil fairy, is played by Bethany Grace Wright. It's no secret that I really enjoy the eviller characters in pantos because, a lot of the time, they have real substance to the role, and here is yet another evil fairy role that I adore. Molevola comes across as a quite matter of fact nasty, probably because of the confidence she has of getting what she wants. Reading the bio in the programme, several things become confirmed in my head from what I'd seen on stage - I don't read the programmes until after the show. Bethany has been very involved in immersive and children's theatre, and the way that she involved the younger audience in the story shows that. It says that she is an accomplished singer and dancer, and that too is bore out with what I saw on stage. Bethany has a gorgeous voice makes her Talegate debut as Molevola.

Completing the cast is Ellie Conroy as Fairy Fabulous, and quite aptly named as Ellie is fabulous at this. The good Fairy in any panto always gets to rhyme her part, and that's what separates them from most of the other characters in panto, and sets them apart and more noticeable, well, in my eyes anyway. Brilliant singer who also gets to perform in a couple of other guises, but no one could mistake that marvellous hair. 

Many highlights for me in this two hour fun show, but the scene where the main characters are being picked off by the Gargoyle, and the utter campness of it just ensured that the smile on my face remained there throughout.

There are three teams of junior ensembles from Bright Lights Theatre School, Team Queenie, Team Valentine and Team Aurora. On Saturday night Team Valentine were on show. They were Rio Hatcher, Ell-J Thurman, Amelie Vickers, Ruari Fenton, Elizabeth Brauer, Erin Millward, Thea Reeves and Florence Burt.

I know the quality of performer from Bright Lights Theatre School, having seen quite a few shows that they have put on in the past. This team are like little pocket rockets, every single one of them. There were two young lads in this team and they were amazing in their style and energy. The whole team also looked as if they were loving every second of stage time. Knowing just how good Bright Lights are, I also know that the other two teams will be of the same high quality.

The songs in this production I've not heard in any pantomime this year. "Ghostbusters", "The Land Of Make Believe", "A Million Dreams" and a brilliant medley performed by Queenie with everything from "YMCA", "Teletubbies", "Hey Baby" and "Bob The Builder" among them made sure that the younger audience members were all kept in the loop musically and gave them a chance to air their lungs.

I would have loved to have told you all about the Production team but they have been left out of the programme, so I don't know who directed, choreographed or musically directed this marvellous show, but whoever you are, consider all those boxes ticked.

Sound is by Ethan Lissaman, and I must commend this area of excellence because in the first act I felt that, while the backing music was beautifully clear, the volume on the actors' mics needed increasing slightly to blend in with the backing. Act Two came about and I noticed an increase in the mics, and the mix between backing track and the vocals were spot on. All other sound used in the show was spot on.

Lighting for this show was spectacular and is thanks to Ellis Gilliam as Assistant Designer with Talegate, and operated by Kevin Cutts. 

Technical Manager is Kim Tuplin.

Stage manager is Sami Hindmarsh.

Thoroughly enjoyed myself tonight, so if you're in the Mountsorrel area, do not miss out on going to support this venue, Talegate and Bright Lights. Great value for the ticket price, which is lower than a lot of local theatre tickets for this time of year.

"Sleeping Beauty" is being performed at MMC until Tuesday 23 December with a Relaxed Performance on Monday 15 December.