Post-Pandemic Panto at the Nottingham Playhouse | Beauty & the Beast
The time had come for us to go to our annual Pantomime at the Nottingham Playhouse and this year it was Sleeping Beauty. It was such a pleasure to be back. We were gutted when they cancelled it last year (which would have been our 21st year in a row of attending a Pantomime at the Nottingham Playhouse) but everyone's safety is paramount so we completely understood the circumstances there. So it was a real treat to finally sit down and watch one of their epic performances.
It was just what you would expect from a Christmas Panto, with heckling, ad libs and one liners that had the adults in fits of laughter while the children looked around confused. The entire show was expertly done and the costumes were second-to-none with all the glitz, glamour and sparkle that you'd want from a traditional Christmas Pantomime.
The Dame, as per usual, was an absolute hoot, never failing to make me and everyone else chuckle. There were definitely a few shoulders jumping up and down as people laughed away at all the slapstick comedy that befell our eyes, including someone taking a cream pie to the face and having a considerable amount of water chucked over them. That, together with having to keep an eye out for a runaway chicken, made the performance all the more enjoyable, as per usual.
The other characters were a blast as well. Belle was as sweet and as endearing as you'd expect a Disney princess to be (even though this isn't Disney but you know what I mean, haha) and she's an excellent singer. The Beast was also brilliant, throwing himself into the role as he really did come across as a real baddie, even though, towards the end, you did feel sorry for him so job done in that respect!
As usual, you have a couple of little sidekicks, one being Jacques and another being Belle's father. Gaston also made a brief appearance although I think he could have had more of a prominent role as he was fantastic. Belle was also given two sisters in this version, both of which were a scream, demanding the latest fashion, taking selfies on the more advanced phones, carrying a dog around in a handbag (not a real dog, haha) and wearing thick faux fur coats. They strutted around the stage as if they owned the performance and they really did smash it.
There was even a song medley towards the end which had everyone clapping and singing along and they also found time, as they do every year, to sing a few people 'Happy Birthday' and to get a couple of small children on stage for a socially-distanced chat with the Dame which is always very entertaining as kids come out with some corkers!
After the show, which was amazing as usual, we all skipped around the corner and had a cosy coffee and a bit of chat about the Panto, naturally, and we each said how much we enjoyed it and how much we missed it. In fact, the Dame herself even said that she missed coming out to perform in front of us all so everyone was glad to be back and it really, really showed.
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I hope you enjoyed this blog post. Let me know whether or not you've attended your Christmas Panto yet or whether you're yet to go. Do you usually go at Christmas or in the New Year? I'd love to know find out. Anyway, I'll see you again very soon with a brand new blog post for you all.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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