Stage: Theatre503 and Sleeping Trees present Cinderella And The Beanstalk
From my very first panto, Tommy Steel in Mother Goose at Liverpool’s Empire theatre, I have been hooked. I love every moment of joyous silliness, every transformation scene, every audience song and spectacular walk-down. I may be a fanatic and in many ways I am a purist, I like my panto traditional and even discriminate against the imposters, the Christmas shows that are not pantomimes in the real sense. Then I heard about Cinderella And The Beanstalk…
Described as “infectiously bonkers” and “breathtakingly witty”, Cinderella And The Beanstalk is said to be the pantomime to end all pantomimes, and the perfect festive treat for anyone aged 6+ who like their panto with a twist. Well I’m prepared for a twist, why not?
Three seemingly unstoppable performers (and one live musician) recreate over 60 characters from more than a dozen classic stories, including Cinderella, Jack And The Beanstalk, Peter Pan, Hansel and Gretel, Pinocchio, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and many more. There’s anarchy up the beanstalk in this fast-paced physical comedy where the laughs are said to come at breakneck speed.
Blackmailed by the scheming Rumpelstiltskin, you’ll follow would-be princess Cinderella on a perilous adventure to the top of the beanstalk to retrieve the coveted golden eggs. But with Prince Charming, the Fairy Godmother, Jack’s pregnant cow, and a small army of supporting characters all doing their bit to get in the way, getting her hands on these oversized eggs may not be quite so straightforward…
Blackmailed by the scheming Rumpelstiltskin, you’ll follow would-be princess Cinderella on a perilous adventure
Written by the multi-award-winning physical comedy trio Sleeping Trees (described by Time Out as “the birth child of Monty Python and The League of Gentlemen”) and directed by Tom Attenborough (grandson of the late Sir Richard Attenborough), Cinderella And The Beanstalk was a huge critical and audience hit when it premiered at London’s Theatre503 in 2014.
Sleeping Trees Executive Director Alice Carter explains how the show differs from traditional panto: “We don’t believe that children and adults have a different sense of humours – children don’t need to be talked down to, and adults don’t need smutty innuendo to laugh. So we decided to write a Christmas show that everyone could enjoy and laugh at together. We wrote the kind of Christmas show we wish we’d been taken to as children and that we want to see now as adults.”
Join a brand new cast for 2017 as they recreate every panto character you’d expect to find (and some you might not), and do their best to sing, dance and fight their way through 100 minutes of panto pandemonium.
14 Dec 2017 – 6 Jan 2018
The Old Market Upper Market Street, Hove BN3 1AS
01273 201 801 | theoldmarket.com
