Theatre Review: Sleeping Beauty at Nottingham Playhouse

This year’s Playhouse panto – a true Notts institution directed this time by Playhouse Artistic Director Adam Penford – centres this classic tale on Princess Rose, born to royal parents in the kingdom of Sherwoodshire, the first of many Nottingham references. Excluded from the christening, the wicked fairy Maleficent places a curse on the infant Rose that will lead her to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel before her 18^th birthday, and die. Though still with her ‘L’ plates on, fairy godmother-in-training Fairy Lights averts calamity by downgrading this to a century of slumber, with an escape clause of a ‘true love’s kiss’.

And so to Sherwoodshire, where we lay our scene. Speaking of Nottingham connections, this is truly a local panto for local people. It was lovely to see the young chorus, Team Torvill and Team Dean, drawn from the youth wing of the theatre, and I particularly enjoyed the intentionally awkward, apropos of nothing advert for show sponsors Nottingham City Transport, which always puts me in mind of Alan Partidge’s shameless product placements. It was delivered with trademark brilliance and knowing by John Elkington as Nelly the Nanny, who’s deadpan command of proceedings was, as ever, a joy to behold.

First impressions boded well. We were greeted by a fabulously glitter-spangled proscenium curtain, which rose to reveal a beautifully ornate set, framed by a tangle of thorns and ominous looking corvids. Cleo Pettitt’s stage design is a visual feast throughout, expertly married with all of the traditional elements of classic panto – opulent costumes, tightly choreographed dance numbers, atmospheric lighting and sound, all combining to make for a lavish and highly enjoyable sensory feast. Our two nippers, 5 and 11, were enthralled.

It will come as no surprise to loyal Playhouse panto punters that the show is borne aloft by a cracking live band led by maestro John Morton, with song-and-dance numbers plucked from current cultural touchstones such as K-Pop Demon Hunters and Wicked. Much to the delight of tonight’s younger audience members, we even got a ‘six-seven’ reference thrown in.

But not to leave the Gen-X and overs behind, there is plenty of near-the-knuckle, thinly-veiled naughtiness in the humour, chiefly from Notts panto royalty John Elkington, who was brilliant (as always) as our dame, Nelly the Nanny. Nelly’s bedazzling array of costumes, including a full English breakfast, an aquarium and (my kids’ favourite) a box of Cadbury’s Roses, were a met with a wave of delight on every entrance.

This year’s cast are a highly talented bunch, with some standout comedic performances including Seb Harwood as the Prince. A marble-mouthed, gurning, Sloane Ranger twit, Seb had our 5 year old chuckling away, and matched Yazmin King’s brilliant vocals as the pair delivered a West End-worthy duet with some soul-stirring harmonies.

Danny Hendrix gave a wonderfully high-energy performance as Teddy The Bear, and provided the cuddly, beating-heart of the show. TJ Lloyd was great as the bumbling, spoonerising King (“we love you from the heart of our bottoms”) and Lara Sas was a vocal powerhouse as the devilishly saucy Maleficent. She lit up the stage with every entrance, and her attempt to seduce the squirming Prince, whilst lip syncing to Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’, was a highlight.

It was great to see some edgier material slipped in too, with digs at the monarchy, Prince Andrew and even Reform UK! On the subject of reflecting the zeitgeist, it was a nice touch to have the ‘true love’s kiss’ delivered not by the Prince – a ‘random guy who only met Rose a couple of times a hundred years ago’ – but by her doting dad the King. Call me a wokie melt, but I appreciated this subtle, empowering nod to the importance of consent.

For me this was a panto of two halves. The first half I loved, but in the second half I was hankering for a bit more anarchism and milking of the comedic moments. Perhaps this will bed in over the long run, but I’d have liked to see more daft deviations from the central plot, and the cast having a bit more free rein with the material. The slapstick interlude in the bakery could have ramped up the daftness, and been given more room to go off piste.

But all in all, Sleeping Beauty does a fine job of upholding the stellar tradition of Playhouse pantos, and judging by tonight’s reception, it’s exquisite sets and costumes, zippy choreography, rousing musical numbers and downright daft comedy set-pieces gave us all a rip-roaring evening of warm-hearted theatre magic.

Sleeping Beauty plays at the Nottingham Playhouse from Friday 28 November 2025 until Saturday 17 January 2026.