Review: SLEEPING BEAUTY, Richmond Theatre

You can rely on an Eric Potts pantomime - he's been doing this stuff for years, knows exactly which buttons to press to keep the kids happy while the mums and dads get their laughs too, and has never heard a pun too painful for it not to find a home for come Christmas time. And why not? You take the family to a show not to be challenged but to be entertained, and the latest Potts panto at Richmond does exactly that.

Sleeping Beauty gallops through the familiar story in two hours or so - the Princess condemned to sleep for 100 years by the slighted fairy, only to be saved by the kiss of the Prince who loves her. Its analysis can be left to Marina Warner et al (I did find my mind wandering to the gender politics of the 21st century at times and the Princess's abject lack of agency) but that can wait for another day - we're too busy getting on with the spectacle and the laughs.

And it does look lovely. The costumes are stock, but no less gorgeous for that, the pink-themed wedding finale as spangly and satiny as anyone who believes in fairytales could wish to see. Katherine Iles's choreography is a delight too, especially in an interpretation of The Nutcracker which had plenty of risk, but worked very well indeed. Even the Dame's get-ups are not too outrageous, an affectionate caricature of female dress rather than the cruel mockeries they can sometimes be.

Lauren Hood and Dan Partridge make a pair of winsome lovers, but, as usual in panto, they don't have much to do, but they do it competently enough, pleasing singing voices to the fore. King and Queen, Graham James and Tania Newton, have a lot of fun with James timing his "misheard" lines well and Newton channeling Babs Windsor in her later 'Carry On' days, though the innuendo in this production is Cert U and nowhere near Cert 12A.

The laughs fall mainly to Chester the Jester, Chris Jarvis (who also directs with pace and confidence) and Nursie, Matt Rixon in a push-up bra and with a sideways glance. Jarvis is enthusiastic and, mercifully, never gets close to the irritation line that can put some parents off panto. Rixon has inherited his father's (Matthew Kelly) skill in playing The Dame, seasoning the plot with just enough knowing asides and double entendres for the mum and dads, without ever losing the kids.

And, in villainous black and sporting Chicagoesque fishnet stockings which had me wondering about any pictures that might be in her attic, Maureen Lipman has great fun as the resentful fairy, Carabosse. Sure we get nods in the direction of Agony, Beattie from the BT adverts and Joyce Grenfell, but mainly we get to see Maureen Lipman! Even if she's coasting a bit, the presence is still there and, for those of us in our fifties, she has been almost a constant companion on TV, film, stage and in magazines, newspapers and books. Too edgily political to be considered a "National Treasure", that doesn't mean she isn't treasured by many, myself included. It was such a thrill to see her in real life.

With some Have I Got News For You satirical quips and plenty of local colour thrown in, Richmond's panto is a super show for all the family - though I can't promise the magnificent entertainment provided by onstage volunteer and outrageous showstealer, six-years old Solomon, every night!

Sleeping Beauty continues at Richmond Theatre until 8 January.

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