'Oh yes we did it again!' Wolverhampton's Grand Theatre hails huge success of Sleeping Beauty panto which attracted top-tier reviews
Oh yes we did it again! says bosses at Wolverhampton's Grand Theatre who are celebrating huge success of the Sleeping Beauty pantomime production which has attracted more than 25 top-tier reviews and the highest school attendance in recent years.
The curtain fell on the festive run starring TV's Debra Stephenson, RuPaul's Drag Race UK's Danny Beard, Ian Adams and Tam Ryan, Zak Douglas, Solomon Davy, and Georgia Ludica-Davies on January 4 amid an equally huge sprinkling of glitter. More than 220lbs of the stuff was used on the costumes allowing set lighting designer Sam Hilditch to add an extra touch of magic to the presentation.
Speaking on the show's podcast Danny Beard said: “I chose this panto and this theatre over a couple of other offers because there is so much love here and so much thought goes into everything here, from the casting to the writing to the tech - people care on every level with this show and that’s what I’m like when it comes to my work which is why I slot right in with this show and this theatre.”
In recent years the Lichfield Street theatre has taken to producing its own show once more after almost half a century allowing Wolverhampton-born actors including Zak - who played Gerald The Herald and Solomon who played Prince Stephen - to shine on stage. Both proved to be a hugely popular edition to the panto cast line up.
Zak also works there as a front of house duty manager and has landed roles on ITV’s G’wed, Channel 5’s The Good Ship Murder. Meanwhile West End star Solomon Davy, who first performed at the theatre as a two-year-old with Codsall’s Carol Suttie School of Dance, wowed audiences as Link Larkin in Hairspray back in February 2025.
A total of 24 children from the region also took part in the show playing the young prince and princess, aged seven and age 14. Some of the young performers were part of the Grand Theatre and Arena Theatre’s Youth Theatre while others had very little performance experience yet showed great talent and now have the footing to progress, having had their skills nurtured over the past five weeks.
Among those offered behind the scene roles was Eden Garrattley the show's assistant stage manager, who was offered the job after taking part in the Solihull College & University Centre Creative Venue Technician Bootcamp backed by West Midlands Combined Authority to attract those looking for careers in the creative industries. Eden said: “Stage management was what first sparked my passion to start working in the theatre industry, but I haven’t had many chances to gain hands-on experience in this area until now.
"I’m really grateful to The Grand for trusting me with this role and giving me the chance to take this next step in my career.”
In addition for the second-year running the theatre has invested in a travel fund scheme to provide some schools with coach travel when booking to see a production in partnership with The Richardson Brothers Foundation and offered schools based in Wolverhampton, Walsall, Sandwell and Dudley complimentary travel to the theatre until August 2026, to a production of their choice. Many of whom used the scheme to see Sleeping Beauty.
Next season’s pantomime Treasure Island is already enjoying record-breaking advance sales with over 20 per cent of capacity already booked totalling over 15,500 tickets. Book via.grandtheatre.co.uk/
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