Sleeping Beauty at The Anvil

Disclosure: We were invited to see this show for the purpose of this post however all opinions are my own.

We were lucky enough to be invited to see Sleeping Beauty at The Anvil this weekend. Seeing a panto in Basingstoke is a highlight of our festive season and we are always blown away by the show that The Anvil put on. We couldn’t wait to see this year’s performance.

Sleeping Beauty at The Anvil

This year’s show is Sleeping Beauty, a real classic for a pantomime with all the characters you would expect – Princess Rose as the main character, Prince Vincent, the Good Fairy – Fairy Snowfall, the Evil Fairy Carabosse and our favourites, Nanny Nora the panto dame and Lester the Jester.

The show is a triumph from start to finish, packed full of fun, dancing, singing and jokes as well as plenty of audience participation! From the very first song and our introduction to Princess Rose and her dad, The King, it was an action packed couple of hours that featured everything from country music to Dr Who!

Princess Rose, played by Elly Jay, and Prince Vincent, played by Tyger Drew-Honey, were a great partnership. They can both act and sing so well – and we were impressed that Tyger managed to keep his accent up throughout the show, even when singing! What a pro.

Tyger Drew-Honey is best known for playing Jake in Outnumbered but this was our first introduction to him – and he is a fantastic Prince! We loved the way the characters bounced off each other and seeing his relationship with Sleeping Beauty blossom throughout the show was just lovely.

The Good Fairy and Evil Fairy are a big part of the show – and without too many spoilers, they both get to use their wings during the show – real wow moments! Carabosse, the Evil Fairy, played by Jenny O’Leary, was my favourite character in the panto. Such a huge personality, loud, proud and with such a great voice, she definitely stole the show for me. There was one point where she finished a song and the whole audience clapped so enthusiastically – we were all so captivated that we forgot we were meant to boo for the villain not applaud! But the performance was too good not to clap!

Joanna Adeyinka-Burford, a familiar face from CBeebies, is a fantastic Good Witch and we especially loved her country music section with a rendition of 5,6,7,8 and Texas Hold ‘Em, accompanied by the ensemble and children from Basingstoke Academy of Dancing and North Hampshire Academy of Dance. It was a really memorable part of the show.

The children added so much to the panto this year. It’s always lovely seeing kids on stage and they all did an incredible job – they sang and danced beautifully and added so much joy to an already fun filled show. Their parents must be so proud.

Nanny Nora, played by Nic Gibney, and Lester the Jester, played by Chris Pizzey, were a wonderful double act. Playing mother and son, pretty much every line was so funny and their costumes really added to their performances.

Chris Pizzey is a familiar face for us at The Anvil and we look forward to seeing him each year. His performances are fantastic, comedy seems to come so effortlessly and even though we have seen him perform so many times, he always manages to make each performance feel so fresh and new.

Sleeping Beauty at The Anvil kept us engaged throughout. There is so much audience participation – from the he’s behind yous to the ghosties and the ghoulies scene that the kids always love. But, this year, Sleeping Beauty also has so many special effects, with fire and explosions, time travel and even a dragon. It’s a masterpiece!

We always love seeing a pantomime at The Anvil and this year’s show seems to have been taken up a notch. It was brilliant. With singing and dancing throughout, the often overlooked ensemble helped to turn each song into a real performance. The whole cast worked together to put on a show that we’ll be talking about not just over the festive season but for years to come.

Sleeping Beauty was a real joy to see. If you do one thing together as a family this Christmas, make it a visit to Sleeping Beauty at The Anvil. You won’t be disappointed.

Sleeping Beauty is on until 5 January 2025. You can find out more and book tickets over on The Anvil website. For reference, the theatre address is: Churchill Way, Basingstoke RG21 7QR