"Robin Hood & The Babes In The Wood"

Spotlight Theatre.

Nottingham Arts Theatre.

Set in the woodland of Sherwood Forest and the Castle at Nottingham, Nanny Annie is bringing the Babes to the care of their uncle, the villainous Sheriff. However, things don't go to plan and Robin Hood discovers that the two Babes have been left in the forest and so takes them under his protection. The Sheriff of Nottingham is desperate to capture Robin Hood and his band of Merry Folk so he arranges an archery contest at the Goose Fair that he knows Robin won't be able to resist. 

Who will win the contest? Who will win the heart of Maid Marian? 

Hemi Lewis plays the role of Robin Hood, confidently taking charge with hands on hips and plenty of thigh slapping, as in the old tradition of pantomime.

Maid Marian is the beautiful beau for our hero Robin, and it's plain to see why both Sophie Benner and Tegan King were chosen for this shared role. Sunday evening I saw Tegan.

Lady Catherine is played by Madelyn Pritchard and Emily Holder in another shared role and on Sunday evening Madelyn was Maid Marian's right hand woman.

Little John is played by Oliver Smith and who else could have played this role as Oliver, if you've never seen him before is very tall.

Mike Pearson, who has swapped one set of long flowing robes for another set, as Friar Tuck. It's still funny to me to see a man of the cloth dancing around like Mike does in the show.

JK Smith is Nanny Annie. Great fun to watch, as are all of these people on stage, and some brilliant costumes to go.

Silly Billy is played by Patrick McChrystal and I love the physical bit that he puts in after saying his character name on stage, Silly Billy Goodbody. You have to see it to know what I mean! Straight away he gets the audience behind him with his "ey up me duck" call and response on every stage entrance. Panto as it should be!

Graham Ward is the evil Sherrif Of Nottingham. The audience took a bit of time to get into proper full on booing mode, but by the second half Graham had them booing as soon as he stepped on stage and eating out of his hand.

Joe Butler plays Fairy Clumber, named not after Clumber park, but because this funny fairy is just a little clumsy. I still can't believe that this is Joe's first role as a panto fairy, but she shows that she can play nice just as well as she can play nasty, as in the past. Joe's version of Bjork's "It's Oh So Quiet" was just one of many highlights for me, especially as it's not the easiest of songs to perform. Brilliant costume by the way and love those wellies!

Luca Smith plays one half of a fabulously funny pairing named Muck and Tilly Wishart on Sunday evening plays Rake. These roles are also shared by Bethany Wear as Muck while Shantanu Bhumbra, one of the busiest local actors over the past year, plays Rake. 

George Young is Allan-A-Dale, Much, The Miller's Son, is played by Preston Nash, another busy young actor over the last 12 months, David of Doncaster is played by Jo Holt in her debut for Spotlight Theatre. Helena Cave and Daisy Donohue share the part of Will Scarlett with Daisy performing on Sunday evening's show,  

The adult company in this high energy panto are Sophie Benner, Helena Cave, Daisy Donoghue, Alannah Hills, Jess Henley-Marshall, Emily Holder, Tegan King, Madelyn Pritchard and Hermione Cumbers.

There are two teams performing over the panto period, Team Walesby, who consist of Ellie-Mai Hummel, Caitlin Robinson, Grace Moroziuk, Karin Hurst, Willow Hunter, Zara Halse, Madeline Bisby, Ruby Hall, Gracie Laxton, Erin Mills, Olive Jefford, Megan Holder and Freya Ireson.

Team Wellow consist of Mia Jacks, Orla Donohoe, Emma Price, Sarah Fisher, Kessia Gudgin, Oscar Jack, Hattie Duffin, Olivia Finch, Evie Andrew, Izzy, Jess Blackham, Miley Brown and Clio Wilkinson-Dunstan. Team Wellow was the team performing on Sunday evening.

The roles of River and Willow, The Babes,  are shared by Atia Morrell and Delilah Fyles-Carr (River) and Ameelie Booth and Ella Rhodes (Willow). Sunday evening I watched Ella and Delilah.

Such a large and hard working cast that I hope that I haven't inadversely missed anyone out.

Directed and written by Amanda hall and Liam Petruccio-Hall, this is yet another big success in the writing department weaving energy and fun into every role. A nice blend of golden oldie jokes with some fresh ones thrown in for good measure.

Choreographed by Megan Leahy, assisted by Charlotte Barrington and Laura McChrystal. This is a massive cast and every single one of this cast not only looked as if they were having the best time dancing on that stage, they made sure that we, the audience members also had a ball watching that energy just explode through dance.

Musical Director is Patrick McChrystal, the singing from the whole cast was hot, especially in songs like "Hot To Go" and "Apt", which by the way has been turned into an acronym for Awesome Party Tree which made the inclusion of the song perfect. The whole company songs like "I'm A Believer", "Step Into Christmas" and the two opening act numbers "Boogie Nottingham" (a parody of "Boogie Wonderland") and "Wake Up Boo" just raised the energy so much and got people in the mood for a good time.

Set Design is by Amanda Hall, Laura McChrystal and Mike Pearson and looking around the set there are some nice additions like the two lions among the shiny, bright set which moves seamlessly between Goose fair, The Market Place and Sherwood Forest.

Costume design is by Sophie Petruccio-Hall and Spotlight Theatre Arts CIC, and another highlight of this show. The Sherrif's costume really creates that dark aura visually while the other characters are easily recognised by costumes alone, especially Will Scarlet. Fairy Clumber's is great fun and then of course there's Nanny Annie's creations.

Lighting Design is by Oliver Read who created the usual on stage explosion of colour and this was operated by George Wilson and Follow Spot Operators being Cathy Bodman and Cris Brawn.

Sound Designer is Rob Kettridge who produced the first perfect sound design for any of the pantos that I have seen this year to date, and that includes the Theatre Royal show.

There's projection which also helped advertise upcoming shows as well as a pricelist for items available for kids to wave around and wear, but also provided projection of the words for the singalong section of the show. This area of expertise is the responsibility of College Street Technical Services.

I keep mentioning just what a large cast this is, which gives big responsibility to stage management and Laura McChrystal, assisted by Roman Moroziuk, who I am sure is anew addition to the Spotlight family. Deputy Stage manager is Nigel Newton and Charlotte Barrington.

I've deliberately not gone on about each individual performance for the simple reason that this team work as one and they all come together to deliver a fun and family friendly pantomime, working like a well oiled machine.

"Robin Hood & The Babes In The Wood" is at the Nottingham Arts Theatre until Sunday 21 December.

 "Dick Whittington"

Derby Arena.

I have checked as extensively as I can and this is the only Dick that is available around this and the Derby area this festive season. Written by Morgan Brind, he weaves his very own special panto magic throughout the age old story of Dick and his cat, as they travel south in search of golden pavements, as well as ridding Hotel Stilton of the infestation of rats, led by Queen Rat herself.

The Hotel is ran by Alderman Fitzwarren and his daughter Alice Fitzwarren, who falls for Dick in a big way, but after a nasty framing case by Queen Rat, Dick and his pussy are thrown out into the streets, and as they head back to derby from London, Dick gets a message to turn back and prove his innocence.

To do this he has to disguise himself, along with Tommy the Cat, to get aboard the new cruise liner that the Alderman has bought, but things do not go as ship shape as planned!

Morgan plays Dame Mabel, who starts off as the Dame on reception at Hotel Stilton. He is his usual cheeky self and the costumes are as outrageous as ever, you wouldn't expect anything less, and the audience are not disappointed. The writing is as clever as ever with even more wordplay than ever. The jokes are predominantly new, and are funny, cheesy, corny, saucy and even the odd old joke makes you smile. 

There's a sketch which involves flags of the world with even more clever wordplay which I can't remember seeing before as well as a wonderful sketch inside the ship and the renovation of the broken down ship's engine, again utilising clever wordplay which you really have to listen to in order to get the full comedic effect. Both new to me and both very funny. It must be increasingly difficult to write new sketches that have not been done before and to continually make them funny for the large age range that pantomimes attract; then again Morgan's writing has always been exceptional, and he surrounds himself with talented people who he knows how to write for and who will land his lines perfectly.

Starring alongside Derby's favourite Dame is Coronation Street's Wendi Peters as Queen Rat. The gorgeous Wendi is a multi talented actor who can perform solo shows, star in classics like "Sister Act" and then, in the New Year, star in "Glorious" as American Socialite, Florence Foster Jenkins, who was known for her flamboyant costumes, enigmatic performances, and decidedly off-key voice. Nothing off-key to be ratted out in this role though as Wendi pops in and out of the story with some ratten, sorry rotten threats. Having seen Wendi in full on musical mode before, it was no surprise to me of her dancing and singing abilities, both of which are in evidence as Queen Rat.

There are several familiar faces to see in this year's panto including Kristian Cunningham who takes the lead role as Dick Whittington. As ever, super confident and immediately likeable. His disguise to get on the Alderman's cruise liner will make you smile, and I don't think I'll look at Taylor Swift in the same way again without thinking of Kristian. His voice shows his musical theatre experience as it cuts through the massive auditorium that is Derby Arena, and when he brings the vocals down he gives you chills.

Roddy Peters is back, this year as The Alderman. Morgan has written some wonderful wordplay sections for Roddy this year, and one thing that you notice when you see Morgan's work, is that he is very generous with the comedy lines and the wordplay for his co-stars. Two of the funniest sketches involve Morgan, Kristian and Roddy, namely the "flags" sketch and the "boiler room" sketch, and it's not just the audience that are rocking in that scene.

Also making a return to the Derby Arena stage is Nicola Martinus Smith in the role of Fairy Bow Bells. Of course with the setting being down south, there's plenty of rhyming from Fairy Bow Bells, as well as Queen Rat. Nicola pops in and out as much as Queen Rat, and they even get to perform a duet together which is great fun to see.

Playing Alice is Ruby Hewitt, a new name to me, but a real find for this panto audience. She looks gorgeous and can deliver a funny and saucy line without making it sound too salacious.

Tommy The Cat is played with great athleticism by Kai Harris. A very agile dancer and performer and a welcome addition to this year's pantomime, I have a feline that this won't be his only appearance in a Little Wolf pantomime as he was a hit with the audience.

The good looking and equally energetic ensemble are made up of Chloe Hopcroft, Alfie Aves, Anna King, Luke Cartledge, Evie Storr and Dominic Wood.

There are three teams of young performers, not sure which one was on tonight but the teams are....

Team Paws, who are Summer Featherstone, Alice Cureton, Madeline Sharpe, Betsy Stevens, Esmie Smith-Cockayne (now there's a name that I remember having seen before), Chloe Ashford, Louis Gillespie and Ellie Hockey.

Team Tails, who are Demi Nixon, Scarlett Hunt, Emmie Gibson, Heidi Skates, Maisie Baker, Rhaea Parker, James Breen and Tilly-Lou Moore.

Team Whiskers, who are Verity Watson, Maria McGinty, Alyssa Lemmey, Laila Owen, Wallis Sutton, Emily Box, Wilbert Jay Leysa and Lilimay Tipton.

Directed by Mark Chatterton, he made sure that the pantomime pace was kept up to speed, and this show really does go at a pace and a half!

Choreographed by Matthew Wesley. there are some lovely choreographed pieces here, especially the brilliant "Abracadabra" that Wendi is involved with; a magical part of this year's Christmas fare. The ensemble numbers are big and bouncy with the stage being filled with action. I also loved the "Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat" section which, as anyone who has seen this choreographed piece from "Guys n Dolls" will know is a great section for a choreographer.

Musical Director is Ong Cheng Kan on piano, who led his trio of Corrina Etherington (Reeds) and John Clark (Percussion). How can so much music come from just three musicians?

Costumes always play a massive part in any show, but when it's panto they need to stand out, especially the dame's costumes, and they certainly do, just take a look at Mabel's "beached" costume, or should that be "beach" costume and her "tap" costume, so innovative and so clever. 

Sound Design is by David Cooper, and for the majority of the show, everything was perfect, but then there was the dreaded mic pack issue, and this time it was Kristian's pack that gave up the ghost, and even the hand held mic he used after that didn't work properly. A few missed cues but on the whole didn't mar the show, you know what a picky so and so I am with sound and getting everything just right. That said, the mix between music and vocals was good and I could hear every word, even on the back tier.

Lighting Designer is Alexandra Stafford. Big, bright and beautiful (wouldn't that make a great title for a song for musical theatre?), well that's what the lighting was like for this panto. Top marks from me.

There are some lovely music choices used in this panto, some I didn't even know, but worked well with the storyline. Brilliantly catchy songs like Lady Gaga's "Abracadabra", Huntr X's "Golden" and Rose and Bruno Mars' "Apt" -  songs that are featured in other local pantomimes, but pop classics like Village People's "In The Navy" and musical theatre biggies like "I Can Hear the Bells" from "Hairspray" and the aforementioned "Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat" just keep those toes tapping. It's also the third pantomime that has a section on "Strictly Come Dancing", which is also quite fun.

Little Wolf Pantomimes are always going to be a hit with me because of the quality of the writing, especially with this years' abundance of word play being used so skilfully, the enthusiasm from the cast and dancers and the ability to make me smile, even at the cheesiest of jokes, and the quality of the newly written gags.

Just watch out for abundance this year in the water cannons! There's no escape, wherever you are sat.

"Dick Whittington" is at Derby Arena until Wednesday 31 December.

 "The Little Mermaid"

Neville Studios, Nottingham Playhouse.

The Little Mermaid dreams of a life on the land but finds herself out of her depth when her dreams finally come true.  Her Dad has forbidden her from going up to the surface. Marina bumps into  the Sea Witch, who promises her legs so that she can go on land, but there's a catch! Marina has to steal the biggest diamond in the world for Tamara, the Sea Witch, and to make sure that Marina brings the diamond back within 24 hours, tamara has taken Marina's voice, with the promise that she will get her voice back when she returns to Tamara with the diamond!

This is one of those gorgeous pieces of theatre designed especially for the younger theatre goer, but even if you're a little out of the age range of 3 - 8 years old, believe me, you'll very soon get lost in the narration of this piece of theatre.

The cast of two, Hannah Breedon (Marina) and Ollie West are brilliant at keeping the little ones transfixed and at ease; so much that the young audience members soon have no qualms about joining in with a dance and there's almost like a sense of panto call and response at times.

Keeping children's attention is not easy - I used to be a Children's entertainer many moons ago, so I know what hard work it can be, but Hannah and Ollie breeze through the stage time with this story and ensuring that the young, and not that young, are completely entertained with this lovely twist on the Little Mermaid story.

The story is written by Joe Venable and Rob Gathercole and have given a fresh feel to the story using modern phrases and some clever uses of modern pop culture i.e. mentioning that at the karaoke bar there are singers like Sardina Carpenter, Billie Eelish and, my favourite, Hammer Ed Sheeran. It really feels as if the writers have looked through the eyes of the young to see the world in their eyes. It's very clever, does not patronise and is great fun.

Directed by Alessandra Davison the motion of this ocean is non stop with either one of both actors being on stage or setting up the stage. Ollie gets to play several characters as well as the puppetry, and there are some quick changes of costume involved as he moves from one character to the other in the time that it takes him to go behind the scenery at one end and appear at the other end. The timing for this production with stage time is very closely observed, never giving the audience time to fidget, and always having a focus onstage for them to concentrate on.

The set and costumes are designed by Emma Howson with Ella Barraclough being the Costume Supervisor. The set includes a screen where a video is constantly on with some of the important words and phrases are on view, as well as pictures and cartoon characters. This is in the large rear set design which doubles as all of the other settings, whether that be a laboratory, Dad's Shed, the safe where the diamond is housed or the backdrop to the blue, blue underwater scenes. All very cleverly adaptable to change from one to the other with the simplest of adjustments while being visually attractive. 

The costumes are clever, especially Tamara's which is designed to show at first glance that this character is the bad guy in this show. Ollie's other costumes are designed to be quick to swap and change into while Hannah's show straight away that she is the Little Mermaid in the title of the piece, There's lots of shiny, reflective pieces of clothing to remind us that we are, most of the time, under the sea.

Sam Osborne is in charge of the lighting design as well as the video programming and the caption design that you will see in the show is thanks to Matt Powell. As I said, all very pleasing on the eye and easy to attract the attention of a young audience.

The songs used in this show are so incredibly catchy, and quite sophisticated and clever for children's theatre. The song "Diamond Geezer" which Tamara sings could just as well have been a song from Madness, or even Olly Murs who has the same kind of swag musically, and is very difficult to get out of my head! The opening, and closing song, "Blue" is also one that you will have in your brain, and then wonder where you've heard it from in a few days' time.

The soundscape that you hear as you take your seats and wait for the show to start is so relaxing that you are in danger of relaxing just a little too much!

Stage Manger is Ali Bakewell, whose name I have mentioned in the past, but it was lovely to meet her face to face. Ali organised the youngsters at ground level, which not only made sure that Ollie and Hannah had a close up audience, but also gave the mums and dads a spell of breathing space as well, I imagine.

This is one show that will not leave you feeling blue after you leave and will provide some lovely memories for the children and even some moralistic talking points when the young ones get home. Or it may just be a wonderfully entertaining piece of escapism theatre for a family to enjoy for an hour.

"The Little Mermaid" is at the Nottingham Playhouse Neville Suite until Saturday 3 January 2026, so there's plenty of time to treat yourself, and bring the little ones along as an excuse.

Photographs courtesy of Michael Aiden Photography.

 "Oliver Twist" Based on the novel by Charles Dickens.

Adapted by Deborah McAndrew.

Derby Theatre.

It is so nice to see the non-musical version of this Charles Dickens classic, especially at this time of year. Well, I say non-musical but this production has a gorgeous soundtrack to it consisting of traditional carols, original songs and folk music, which makes this show feel a little like a Dickensian folk story.

The story, as everybody will know, is of a workhouse boy who is sold as an apprentice to an Undertakers, but after another employee insults Oliver’s dead mother, a fight breaks out and Oliver escapes and is taken under the wing of Fagin, thanks to meeting another young, but streetwise urchin, The Artful Dodger, who with the other boys, teach Oliver how to pick pockets for a living. Oliver also meets Nancy, the live in wife of Bill Sykes, who as we all know is not a nice man. 

I can't remember seeing a production like this as we start with the birth of Oliver, and the death of his mother, and there are a few other scenes that are not quite the same as the musical version, but make for very interesting viewing. Deborah McAndrew's adaptation shows a different side to the story.

Oliver's part is shared by three young actors, and on Tuesday night's performance we saw William Poyser-Alton. Claudia Burton and Eliza Jean-Poxon also take the titular role at various performances.

William is remarkably good and has an incredibly expressive face. When he is being beaten by Bumble, even though there is no actual physical violence, William's reactions to the cane makes you wince. For such a young actor he has so much charisma and stage presence and this young man has a big future in drama, either locally or nationally.

Fagin's Gang, along with William are Ophelie Balkota, Florence Batten, Alice Doherty, India Dorman, Isabelle Naylor, Charlotte Race, Anay Ruparel and Darwin Shaw. There's a different gang for each of the Olivers. Great energy from the young company, and a lot of lovely comic performances as well.

Zach Atkinson plays Noah Claypole, and you may also spot Zach as a Policeman elsewhere in the production, as well as a few other roles, and also plays an instrument. His speech to Oliver when they are first introduced regarding Oliver's Mum was evil enough for anyone to want to give him a slap.

Analiese Emerson Guettinger is Nancy, and such a young looking Nancy for this production. I think that when you're used to seeing the musical version of Nancy, you expect someone who looks older. Analiese's version also shows that she was one of Fagin's gang before Sikes took a liking for her, and hints that she still occasionally "works" for Fagin and Bill, when needed.

Samuel Heron plays both Mr Sowerberry and Mr Brownlow. I don't know why but I was getting Leonard Rossiter vibes from Samuel as Sowerberry, and believe me that is not a bad thing as I was a big fan of Rossiter's body of work. A complete opposite of Mr Brownlow.

April Nerissa Hudson plays both Bet and Charlotte. 

Iris Laverne is the Artful Dodger. It was a bit of a surprise reading that Dodger was to be played by a woman, but Iris really makes you forget that she is playing a role that is usually portrayed by a man. Great fun twist and you very soon forget this and enjoy the crafty antics of Fagin's head boy.

Polly Lister plays Fagin, Mrs Sowerberry as well as well as Old Sally. As with Dodger, you get in your mind that these roles are usually played by men, but what great performances you get in all three roles, plus there are a couple of other parts that you spot Polly playing. The scene where Fagin is examining the jewellery that he has hidden away gives rise to a possible view that Fagin had a real feminine side to him as he lovingly adorned himself with hair slides and jewels, but very quickly put them back in their boxes when he spotted Oliver watching him. 

Michael Mahony is Mr Bumble and this is another stereotypical character dismissal. We always see the Harry Secombe type actor in this role but Michael looks nothing like the typical Bumble. Michael makes the character and the role his own.

Bill Sikes is played by Dan McGarry. Again, another different adaptation of the Sikes we all know and dislike from the film or musical version of Sikes. He is depicted as quite a smart character who is in charge of the gang and how they operate. The violence from Sikes is also done very differently and is a masterclass in timing, but more than that I don't want to give away, because the movement side of these actions, and the production itself is something very impressive.

Katherine Toy plays Widow Corney, Mrs Bedwin and Justice Fang. I loved the comedy in Widow Corney, and her cat, and who'd have guessed that Bumble had a dislike of felines?

The roles of both Agnes and Rose are played by Karen Young.

Directed by Sarah Brigham, assisted by Kai Bools. I keep saying how different this production is from anything that I've seen in the past and that is because of the reimagining of Dickens' story, Deborah's adaptation and the different sides of the characters that we all know highlighted with this production.

Musical Director and Composer is Eliza Waters. The music really creates an atmosphere throughout the production with the musical backing performed live on stage by the actors. The opening of "In the Bleak Mid Winter" really puts you in that Christmas mood and I have always loved traditional folk music so everything about this ticks my every box.

The set was designed by Neil Irish, and with this being a "Made In Derby" production the set is completely designed and created in the theatre. So many different spaces to watch out for and, again very different to other versions of the story. No London Bridge as such and Fagin's den is very different with an entrance and exit being from under the stage. There are parts of the set where the gang can hide away and store things away from prying eyes and a small but neat setting for the Brownlow's home.

Tim Heywood's costume design expertly showed up the class system with the smart suits for the period in complete contrast to Fagin's Gang. The suit that is given to Oliver by Brownlow transforms Oliver's appearance.

Arnim Friess was responsible for the lighting design and Sound Designer was Jim Harbourne. Derby Theatre for me has always had one of the better sound systems and the music to vocal mix sounded beautiful.

Deb Pugh's Movement direction brings an almost fairytale feel to the production, and as I mentioned previously, especially effective with the more violent scenes, not taking away the intent but calming the violence down.

The Puppet Maker and Director was John Barber.

If you're not the pantomime kind of person, then this is the perfect alternative as it is a classic story, the adaptation is brilliant and even if you've seen this story, musical or otherwise, on TV or film before, come and see this version because it gives a completely fresh overhaul. The music makes you feel festive and in need of mulled wine or hot chocolate and marshmallows, followed by a bout of carol singing. Thank goodness I drove to derby as my carol singing didn't take any festive feelings away from anyone else who may have heard me.

"Oliver Twist" is at Derby Theatre until Saturday 3 January.

Photography by Graeme Braidwood.

 "Sleeping Beauty"

Nottingham Playhouse.

Ey up me duck, the 2025/2026 panto season continues with yet another brilliant family orientated piece of Christmas fare.

Outraged at not being invited to the Princess’s party, the evil Maleficent casts a spell that sends the Princess and her whole kingdom into a deep sleep, when she pricks her finger on an enchanted spinning wheel. As they snooze, a tangled forest springs up around them. Only one thing can break the curse – the magic of true love! Enter our Prince, who must battle through the thorns, and work with the Princess to defeat the wicked fairy, malevolent Maleficent.  

The legend that is John Elkington is Nelly The Nanny. Nelly gets the party started even before the first curtain is raised with her pre show rules and regulations, and by the sound of Monday's audience, they were ready to party! What I love about John is that whoever and whatever character John plays every year, he is just John in a frock, albeit extremely glamorous and over the top frocks. He is instantly Mr Entertainment, puts on n o airs and graces, and is one of the best Dames in Nottingham you'll ever see. His audience participation is natural and works the ad-libs in as fluently as if they were in the script.

I mentioned the frocks and every year, and I've been coming to see the pantos for quite a few years now, those frocks get more over the top than last year; it makes you wonder how far the designers can go for "Aladdin", next year's pantomime. From filled aquariums to Roses chocolates and a full English breakfast inspired frock, plus more, these costumes have to be the most ingenious and brilliantly designed costume for any panto Dame to adorn themselves with.

Charis Alexandra is this year's good fairy, and quite aptly named Fairy Lights, because she shines and twinkles every time she is on stage. A voice that could cut glass and is powerful as well. I would have described it as "belting" but I was advised a few years ago by a gorgeous actress that "belting" could be misconstrued as meaning "shouty" in the theatrical world, so I'll say that Charis is a powerful vocalist.

Seb Harwood is the dashing Prince Albert. If you cross Gaston from "Beauty and the Beast" with Tim "Nice But Dim" from Harry Enfield's show, you'll get the vibe of the Prince. Wonderfully arrogant to start with and has one of the best lines in the script for me. When Fairy Lights asks why he doesn't call himself just Albert, and drop the Prince title, Albert explains that titles are never taken away from members of the Royal Family... oooh, cutting, and a nice slice of topicality, which I think some pantos shy away from nowadays.

Danny Hendrix returns as Teddy The Bear, who appears on stage with just a little bit of Fairy Lights magic. One of those lovable characters who isn't afraid to "crack" the kind of jokes that kids love to hear, filling in the level below the saucy adult type jokes, you know the sort, the ones that go over the kids' heads but the adults get straight away! Danny is no stranger to the Nottingham Playhouse panto stage and is as comfortable as your favourite pair of slippers to watch. 

I thought the catchphrase for Teddy was just a bit weak, but I can remember the origin of it. Teddy shouted "Nice To See You" and the audience shouted back "To See You Nice". I wonder if that could be a bit of a link to the Theatre Royal panto with Craig Revel-Horwood and "Strictly" as Sir Bruce Forsyth was famous for that catchphrase, and of course Brucie presented "Strictly". This might just be an age thing though as the younger audience members couldn't wait to take part in the call and response.

Princess Rose is played by Yazmin King, who makes her Nottingham Playhouse pantomime debut, but fits in as if she has been in the family for years. A lovely voice and looks very comfortable on stage and in panto. Welcome to the Playhouse panto family.

TJ Lloyd is The King and what a wonderful character this is. I can't remember if I have seen TJ before or if this is his first Playhouse panto, what I could recognise though is that TJ has done a lot of musicals in the past because of his voice has great clarity and power, even singing with the rest of the cast, you could pick his vocals out. A real fun character, who also provides the twist in this version of "Sleeping Beauty".

Taking on the role of the magnificent Maleficent is Nottingham born actor Lara Sas, who by the way has plenty of sass. There is just something, and I can only speak for myself here, just a little bit sexy about an evil woman, especially when Maleficent has such an original seduction technique which involves Marvin Gaye and Boys To Men! The costume is marvellous in black and green, providing that dark image even before she utters a word. Another great singer who has so much stage presence that you cannot take your eyes off of her when on stage... or is that just me falling under Maleficent's magic?

There are two teams of young dancers and singers, Team Torvill and Team Dean. On Monday night I saw Team Dean (I think),and there's always one performer in these teams who really catches your eye. This was the same here. Let me say that this group of seven were so energetic and I love the energy that they put into their dancing, but the youngest and smallest young man, who was at times at the back of the group looked as if he had heard that phrase "dance like there's nobody watching". He was so in the zone while being part of a group and you were just drawn to him because of that supreme confidence.

I'm not sure who has written this year's panto but the writing is so much sharper than before and includes much more in the way of topical jokes as well as some cringy jokes - which we all love anyway, plus some of the jokes that have been used in Nottingham Playhouse pantos for many years, and would not seem right if they were not included i.e. "Butterface". Plus there's a twist to watch out for that I have alluded to, regarding the awakening of the Princess.

There's a nice new twist on the kitchen baking scene which was tight and gave rise to some nice but slightly naughty jokes, which I noticed there were much more throughout the panto, again satisfying the risky humour for the mums and dads.

Directed by Adam Penford, this is a very tight production and there are a lot more jokes and one liners in there that the cast deliver at times like a pump action gun. The music choices span quite a variety of music styles and I was quite pleased that there were a couple of more modern songs, Lady Gaga's "Abracadabra" and Huntr X's "Golden" as well some absolute stompers and a couple of musical theatre favourites, including a brilliant West End style version of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidoshus", which also put Team Dean through their paces.

The Set Designer is Cleo Pettitt. Anyone who has been to a Playhouse pantomime previously will know that their sets are some of the best pantomime sets around and this is yet another glitter filled set. Ranging from a desert scene, a woodland scene all the way through to Maleficent's hell-hole and the glamour of the palace. 

Uncle Johnny Morton is the Musical Director; where would the Nottingham Playhouse pantomime be without Uncle Johnny? The sound that comes from that orchestra pit belies the small quartet with the big sound.

Choreographed by Rosanna Bates I absolutely loved the energy in these routines. The opening dance sections that used to open the two acts have gone and instead the routines are ensconced in the story and opening action sections. I used to find the dance only intros into the two acts just a little bit boring, but times have moved on and this is a perfect example of using entertaining choreography to draw the audience into the action as opposed to giving them another few minutes to chat away.

Lighting Design is by Tim Mitchell, with Sarah Brown as the Lighting Programmer. Combined with the Sound Designer, Paul Groothuis, they created a gorgeous and fun atmosphere, with both lighting and sound being completely on top of their game. I could hear every word of the narration and vocalisation and the lighting created excitement.

I mentioned John's costumes but every costume you see is a work of art, created by Freelance Costume Makers Jo Birkett, James Goss, Annalise Walker, Jude Ward and Kit Winter.

Some people ask me which is the best pantomimes I have seen but both pantos that I have seen this year already are so different that I would not be able to make any comparison, which is really good for theatre goers when you don't have to rate one against the other.

The bar has been set in Nottingham, so let's see if the others can match this very high and enjoyable standard.

"Sleeping Beauty" is at the Nottingham Playhouse until Saturday 17 January 2026.