Busy, and unapologetically smutty, Sleeping Beauty at The London Palladium knows exactly how it wants to entertain you.
This is a family pantomime which pays little homage to the familiar fairy tale, and freely acknowledges that in the opening when leading man Julian Clary (playing King Julian) tells the audience the plot is just a bit of filler between the gags for this, the 10th anniversary Palladium Patomime.
The show opens with a magnificent homage to the pantos of yore, with video footage and sung recall about the previous glamorous Palladium Christmases (except that one in 2020, as we are reminded several times).
The script that leans hard on topical jokes, impressions, call-and-response routines, and a steady stream of pop music. The story just about keeps the broad outline you already know. A princess is cursed at her christening, the kingdom muddles through the consequences, and true love is expected to do some heavy lifting later on.
Julian Clary delivers jokes with his usual dry pause and raised eyebrow. One repeated choice is to undercut grand speeches with a sideways aside, which keeps authority figures lightly deflated and the tone relaxed. Catherine Tate stars appears as the villain, Carabosse, and also walks on as several of her most beloved sketch characters, which had the entire Palladium audience cheering and roaring with approval.
Comedy duties are shared between Rob Madge as the Dame and Paul Zerdin as the comic sidekick. Madge’s entrance is a precise piece of timing, costume first and character second, and the laughs build from there. An exenteded audience-participation moment near the end of the act is handled briskly, with volunteers kept moving so momentum never stalls.
Design choices do a great deal of work. Costumes are unapologetically bright, although a little toned down from some of Julian Clary’s outstanding works of art from the past. Villains are given sharper silhouettes and darker tones. Lighting changes are used to mark the curse and its aftermath, cooling the stage without plunging it into gloom. Sound design stays clean and loud enough to carry jokes without flattening them.
Compared with earlier Palladium pantos, this one feels slightly tighter and less indulgent. There are fewer extended ad-libs and more confidence in moving on once a laugh has landed. The staging favours clarity over clutter, which suits the space and keeps sightlines friendly even when the cast is large.
We saw just two children in the entire auditorium. It’s very much a show for adults, and if you want to take your six year old – don’t! Your local panto will suit much better. For adults, it’s enormous fun. Go and see it before it finishes – if you can afford the staggeringly expensive tickets.
