Glitz, glam, and festive fun at New Theatre's panto

REVIEW: 'Sleeping Beauty' at The New Theatre

Panto season is back and is in full swing at The New Theatre, with Sleeping Beauty!

We all know the story of Princess Aurora, who sadly lost both of her parents. She is raised by Nurse Nellie, and is protected by her, and the Spirit of Pantomine up until her 21st birthday when the evil Carabosse is plotting her revenge in order to get the throne.

Luckily for Aurora, she has the help of Nurse Nellie, the Spirit of Pantomine, Muddles, the court jester, and Prince Gethin of Gabalfa who fight to help break Carabosse's curse.

Panto is my favourite time of the year in the theatre. It’s so full of laughter, festivities, and family fun, and this year was no different. Everywhere was covered in glitz and glam. From the beautiful costumes, to the set designs; everything was bright and colourful, and oozing with panto magic!

Starring in this panto is Morning Live and The One Show host Gethin Jones who portrays the handsome Prince Gethin of Gabalfa. He shares a lot of lovely moments with Princess Aurora, played by Emma Kirk, showing the pair have a great on stage chemistry.

Owain Wyn Evans plays The Spirit of Pantomine, who is a guardian to Princess Aurora, protecting her from Carabosse the Sorceress, played by Jalisa Phoenix-Roberts. Both provided excellent performances, with Owain bringing a good comedic element and Jalisa embracing all of the boos!

Jack Ryan plays Muddles, the loyal, funny friend. Jack was brilliant at getting the crowd laughing and joining in with panto fun. His interactions with Nurse Nellie, The Spirit, and Prince Gethin where hilarious, with a lot of the children particularly enjoying the array of fart jokes.

As tradition in the New Theatre, Mike Doyle was back in his brilliant role as panto dame, and he has to be the best dame I’ve seen. The audience recognise his iconic “Allriiiiiight!”, saying it back to him perfectly without needing a prompt.

There was a lovely moment where Nurse Nellie sang a song with some children from the audience, and Mike was fantastic with them, making it a moment they’ll remember.

One of my favourite things in panto is seeing how much fun the cast have, and this year was no different. The atmosphere in panto is so relaxed and fun, which I think makes the audience feel more comfortable to get involved - especially one child near me who was having the best time shouting at the cast when they were talking to the audience.

I’d highly recommend this panto to anyone, either with their children, family, friends, or even by yourself. It’s a great child-friendly activity for the festive period, with jokes that they’ll enjoy and also plenty of adult jokes. It’s such a lovely environment and is just such good fun, and in my opinion, the perfect way to get into the festive spirit.

Sleeping Beauty is in the New Theatre until Sunday 4 January 2026. To get your ticket for this hilarious and brilliant performance, ring 0343 310 0041 or click here.

Review by Sophie Platt

We received free tickets for this performance in exchange for an honest review