SLEEPING BEAUTY | SUNDERLAND EMPIRE
★★★★
“Miss Rory and Whalley are a dream team with an electric synergy…”
The North East’s most recognisable drag performer, Miss Rory, and his silly sidekick, comical clown Tom Whalley, remain a breath of fresh air as they return to star in Sunderland Empire’s pantomime for a sixth consecutive season. Warm, mischievous and always authentic, their love of panto is infectious, little wonder they’re already regarded as local legends.
In this rambunctious pantomime from UK Productions, Rory and Whalley lead a talented company in a Sleeping Beauty that is a colourful feast for the eyes thanks to John Rainsforth’s lush lighting design. Beautifully costumed by Elizabeth Dennis, and written by Jon Monie, with additional material by Whalley, the script proves to be the Holy Grail of pantoland in that it captures a perfect balance of storytelling, gags and routines. It also boasts a nice contemporary twist that slips seamlessly into the popular fairytale.
And so we meet Rorina the Cleaner and her dippy bairn, Vesta the Jester, who live in Lumley Castle with the King and his daughter Princess Rose, who has been cursed by the evil Carabosse. Consequently, when she pricks her finger on a spinning wheel on her 18th birthday, she falls into a deep 100 year slumber, from which only true love’s kiss can awaken her. Can Rorina, Vesta and the magical Fairy Snowfall save the day by ensuring Princess Rose and her one true love, Prince Vincent, live happily ever after?
Miss Rory is quickly endearing as Rorina the Cleaner. Their entrance may be lowkey, but her stage presence is commanding, naughty, nice and with a wicked line in ad-libs; a thoroughly modern dame. Whalley, by comparison, brings a bashful innocence to his madcap clowning that is quite masterly. Together, the pair are a dream team with an electric synergy that drives the story and keeps the Mackems laughing.
The brilliance of this panto, however, is that it doesn’t solely rely on its two stars. They have strong support from Peter Peverley who creates a fully-rounded King, a role normally underwritten, while Jordan Lee Davies is magnificently malevolent as Carabosse and the perfect foil for Laura Main’s vivacious Fairy Snowfall – their rhyming sparring is quite fabulous.
Principal boy and girl, David Ribi as Prince Vincent (and Coconuts, his invisible horse), and Evelyn Hoskins as a precocious Princess Rose make a lovely couple. Ribi boasts a good voice while Hoskins is a particular hit with the kids.
If some song choices are less than memorable, The Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) at the end of act one, and the closing number, the obligatory Golden, which features on almost every panto playlist this year, have the audience buzzing, while director Victoria Gimby’s light touch keeps the action moving and ensures there’s plenty of audience interaction throughout.
And don’t miss the filmed parody of the recent controversial West End Evita balcony scene, which comes at the top of act two. It’s inspired and finds Miss Rory singing Don’t Cry For Me I’m The Cleaner, just one of a number of beautifully absurd moments in this high energy, laugh out loud funny panto in which even Doctor Who’s TARDIS makes a guest appearance. To find out how that fits into the story, you’ll just have to get along to The Empire. Oh, yes you will.
Run ends 4 January 2026 Tickets HERE
