Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Danny Burns, Stephanie Hockley, Adam Keast, Gracie Lai, Greg Last, Holly Mallett, Jamie Noar, Matthew Quinn, Anna Soden, Stanton Wright.

Tis the season to be jolly…even in dreams, for sleep maybe be restful, but it is to the Rock ‘N’ Roll Panto that the pulse is raised, the glitterball comes out of hiding and the lights sparkle, all of which only can mean that music, theatre and the uplifting seasonal fantasy is back; that there is no time to nap, for Sleeping Beauty will keep you feeling alive and ready to party.

Sarah A Nixon and Mark Chatterton’s highly regarded Christmas stocking full of joy and laughter is always, naturally, a highlight of the year and this year in the Everyman Theatre, Sleeping Beauty takes the audience away from golden slumbers and weaves a lullaby and tale to which every member of the family can feel their chuckle muscle working in fine voice and be roused to embrace the warmth created.

A Rosa by any other name might sound as sweet but in Stephanie Hockley’s fourth Rock ‘N’ Roll panto at the Everyman, the part of Princess Rosa was one that captures the enormity of the role with absolute perfection, working alongside Adam Keast again bringing the dynamic and the humour of the heroine very much to the fore. However, it is to Danny Burns as Doc Toc, and almost every other character required, to whom the crowd took firmly to their hearts. In trust we find ourselves taken to a new level of responsibility, for Danny Burns, his adaptability, his quick-fire changes and vigilance to the many parts he was asked to undertake, showed conviction and that trust, one that was beautifully endorsed all evening.

With splendid choreography installed into the proceedings by Lucy Thatcher, and superb music by the entire cast, Sarah A Nixon and Mark Chattertonâs seasonal offering to the people of Liverpool is once again a night of fantasy and illumination. It is not golden slumbers that will fill your eyes this Christmas at the Everyman Theatre, it will be the memory of having been present at the unwrapping of the spectacular, magnificent in every sense.

Ian D. Hall