Sunday, December 22

Tag: Sarah Langley

Beauty and the Beast – Sheffield Lyceum
Yorkshire & Humber

Beauty and the Beast – Sheffield Lyceum

What a wonderful sight, a packed auditorium full of all age groups, laughing, engaging and experiencing collectively – a tradition that spans the generations – Pantomime! Well, as Sheffield Theatres have opened their panto season, it is well and truly Christmas in Yorkshire! This year’s excellent new production being Beauty and the Beast, written by Paul Hendry who can heroically claim his 17th year of directing writing and producing Sheffield’s panto. The script contains all the expected pantomime traditions from the audience participation, the ‘it’s behind you’ scene in the dark woods and the manic ‘messy’ comedy mayhem and some very funny moments which are very geographically and topically observant. ‘Woodseats’ is now firmly on the panto map and never has it looked so effortlessly gran...
Sleeping Beauty – Sheffield Lyceum
Yorkshire & Humber

Sleeping Beauty – Sheffield Lyceum

Sheffield Theatres and Evolution Pantomimes have a rich reputation for their pantomimes, and this year’s edition is once again Damian Williams and his cohort on their finest form. Superbly directed by Paul Hendy, this is a tour-de-force of panto, and ultimately panto at its finest. Titular character Hannah Everest holds the role very well and is a very stable anchor for both the narrative and comedy within. The same can be said for her royal romantic counterpart played by Dominic Sibanda, who brings an appropriately friendly and fun sensibility to his role whilst playing the melodrama effectively. Janine Duvitski’s Fairy Moonbeam is at her best deployed in comedic ensemble sections, and Lucas Rush’s evil Carabosse delves delightfully into devilishly camp malevolence. Ben Thornton’s exci...