Full of fun and festive spirit, local references, singing, dancing and audience participation, this year’s annual pantomime at The Courtyard, Hereford, is an absolute treat.

The opening night of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ was received with a fantastic reception, and the colourful costumed performers delivered magical musical numbers, and line after line of comically bad jokes - with lots of familiar TV, film, and music references.

The story is Sleeping Beauty with a twist, as likeable heroine Princess Melody (Hayley Johnston) struggles with her magic and muddles up her spells, causing despair to her charming family, King Allegro (Ellis Kerkhoven), Queen Octavia (Madeleine Macmahon), and her love interest, Prince Dorian (Alec Porter).

Queen Octavia, in particular, stood out as an exceptional character actor, with a great stage presence.

The star of the show, in my opinion, who was very warmly received by the audience, was Frankie Sonata. Frankie (Danny Lane) had a fantastic singing voice, great comic timing, and a charming quality - his character was like a cross between Donkey from the film Shrek, and Olaf from Disney’s Frozen.

And as with any pantomime, there is of course a wonderful Dame, Nancy Sonata, played by the endearing Phylip Harris, and a malevolent but likeable ‘baddie,’ Hubbub, played by the charismatic Craig Painting.

Other notable performances came from the four professional dancers, who also doubled as characters, including Bot Bot - the robot sidekick. Their dancing was slick and entertaining, with fantastic acting and facial expressions to match. The tap section was particularly enjoyable.

There was also a very amusing feature film shown during the performance, which shows the pantomime characters interacting with local Hereford businesses during their quest to wake Sleeping Beauty - which also shows just how much time and effort has been put in behind the scenes this year.

Lastly, the excellently executed technical effects, combined with a bit of ‘magic,’ added to this enchanting, heartwarming performance.

This pantomime is not to be missed, and although it is family friendly, there is a lot to offer adults too. There are also ‘adult nights’ for over 18’s that you can attend for more silliness and delightful frivolity.

Performances run from November 25th - January 6th, and tickets are available at: www.courtyard.org.uk/events/sleeping-beauty/ or call the Box Office on: 01432 340555.