The Belgrade Theatre presents another cracking pantomime to the good people of Coventry and beyond - Sleeping Beauty. The show is once again directed and written by Iain Lauchlan, who also returns as Scottish Dame extraordinaire, this year donning the neon doc martens and curly wigs of Nanny Fanny McWheeze.

Rejoining Iain on stage is Craig Hollingsworth as Muddles the Jester - on top form, sprinting across Coventry to make it on stage in time for curtain-up… Back for a third consecutive year at the Belgrade is Aonghas Ewen who, after appearing as the affably villainous rat Scratch last year, has swapped to the good side, to play the wand-waving Azurial.

These are not the only merry reunions of the year - Andy Hockley makes his 20th appearance on the Belgrade panto stage as Grumbleweed, the grumpy gnome henchman of evil Carabosse (Wendi Harriott). Andy’s expertise in the panto field is as noticable as his pointy Garden Gnome-style hat - whenever he was on stage, he had the audience in stitches - and Wendi makes the most of her Top Baddie status, revelling in the boos of the audience.

The story of Sleeping Beauty is such a classic that you must have been asleep for 100 years if you don’t know it. For those who have been snoozing - King Cuthbert (Arif Javid) is celebrating the birth of a Princess, by inviting all the local fairies to a feast in her honour. Or, not quite all the fairies…

Evil Carabosse has been missed off the guest list, and she’s not happy about it. She places a curse on the princess (Mia King-Harmes), who ends up fated to prick her finger on a spinning wheel and fall into an enchanted sleep. She can only be saved by true love’s kiss - courtesy of her childhood sweetheart, Prince Valliant (Emily Rayner).

The true joy of the Belgrade’s panto is that everyone is committed to going the extra mile - led by Iain Lauchlan’s excellent script. All the ingredients of a classic pantomime are present and correct, with a special Belgrade twist. Of course there is a slosh scene - but how about slosh-meets-curling? And Nanny Fanny is bang up to date with modern tech - including a chaotically Scottish version of AI. Any guesses what that might be called?

As Christmas approaches, the Belgrade’s stage is packed to the rafters with jollity and joy - all eyes, young and old, were glued to this ensemble of prime panto peddlers. If you’re on the look out for your annual helping of festive cheer, look no further.

Five Stars

Sleeping Beauty was reviewed on Friday 21 November by Jessica Clixby at The Belgrade, Coventry, where it shows until Saturday 3 January