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SLEEPING BEAUTY by Bob Heather and Cheryl Barrett from the February 2014 issue of |
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We begin at the christening where the King and Queen await the arrival of the guardian fairies. Rose-Petal, Tulip and Blossom are all played by men and are described as not being effeminate even if they are dressed in tutus and bolero jackets.
Rose-Petal is bossy and treats the other two like children though, to be fair, that is how they behave. As they bestow their wishes on the new born Princess Snowdrop they are interrupted by the evil fairy, Poison Ivy, who is miffed because she didn't get an invitation. As per tradition, her curse, that the princess shall die on her eighteenth birthday when she pricks her finger on a spinning wheel, is overturned by Rose-Petal so that the princess will instead sleep until she is awoken by the kiss of a prince.
Fast forward eighteen years and we meet our dame; fruit and veg shop owner, Marigold Glove, who gets the audience going and introduces a risqu‚ element to the pantomime as she describes how she has both melons and plums. Her son, Andy (short for Andin - Andin Glove: get it?), keeps the puns coming thick and fast, some of them quite sophisticated: I had to stop and think for a moment about a sign in the chemist's window, "We dispense with accuracy".
Snowdrop is tricked into using the spinning wheel and soon she is fast asleep along with all the other inhabitants of the castle. Six months later and Poison Ivy is unaware that her spell was changed and therefore unconcerned that the price she would pay for her spell failing is to be banished to the end of the Earth.
Enter Prince Rupert with his equerry, Maurice (who has an outrageous French accent), and his trusty hound, Baskerville, late of Baker Street. He has heard what has happened to Snowdrop and that he must wake her with a kiss, but which one is she? He had better kiss everyone to be on the safe side; starting with the very masculine fairies. After an unfortunate mistake which has Marigold convinced that she has found a husband, Prince Rupert finally spots Snowdrop and our happy ending is assured.
There is a good deal of well-crafted and genuinely funny dialogue throughout the script. A good choice for anyone looking for a concise script that contains all the traditional elements of pantomime. - David Muncaster - Amateur Stage
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