If you want laugh-out-loud moments, fantastic all-singing, all-dancing numbers and a cast who really put other panto performers in the shade – Sleeping Beauty at the Towngate Theatre, Basildon is a MUST-SEE! … There may be silly humour throughout but it’s the toe-tapping dance numbers, which had the audience singing along, such as a Schools Out Medley (Brick In The Wall/Hit Me Baby One More Time/Schools Out For Summer) which certainly scored top marks in the energetic School Room scene. Tender moments too really encapsulated the fairytale love story including solos sung by Zac Hamilton and Aimee Barrett which were note perfect and full of emotion, including a fantastic rendition of James Arthur’s hit number one single Say You Won’t Let Go.

It had everything you wanted from a panto, the kids loved the interaction with the characters, the adults loved the gags (well some of them), and there was plenty of good singing and dancing… And the music and script is also very modern and packed full of the local references that the audience really appreciated.

This is Simon Fielding’s 10th pantomime for the Towngate and it seems that the years of work are paying off. Sleeping Beauty is running for more performances than last year’s Jack and the Beanstalk and Fielding’s tried and trusted recipe shows no visible signs of waning. The main ingredient being a good script, that’s funny, relevant and integrates familiar routines rather than simply linking them.