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Review: Sleeping Beauty, Crescent Theatre, Birmingham

Charles Perrault's take on one of the greatest fairytales of all time is a magical, larger than life production.

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Sleeping Beauty

Crescent Theatre, Birmingham

Review by David Lumb

Charles Perrault's take on one of the greatest fairytales of all time is a magical, larger than life production.

A far cry from its Disney counterpart, this version of Sleeping Beauty is considerably darker – but not so much as to give your children nightmares.

Haunting acoustics, dingy lighting and twisted scenery combine to create an atmosphere reminiscent of some of Tim Burton's films.

But the mood is lightened by the play's many colourful characters.

We have, for instance, Goody the fairy who is instantly likeable and comical; bouncing around the stage and struggling to contain her wind as she casts her spells.

And we also have the prince, whose hilarious confidence has clearly been influenced by scenes from Monty Python's The Holy Grail.

Attention to detail in this production has to be applauded, and puppetry is also used well, employed to portray animals as well as the princess's children.

All in all this is a superb show. It is full of laugh-out-loud moments and the sinister parts are enough to keep youngsters gripped without scaring them too much.

Highly recommended.

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