Clare Sellers
TW: This article includes profanities and drug references.
“Am I on acid?” The question the entire audience was asking themselves as we watched grown men and women ride around a stage on electric scooters while shouting profanities in thick scouse accents. It’s also conveniently one of the standout one-liners in Liverpool Royal Court Theatre’s Scouse Sleeping Beauty.
A hilarious spin on the classic fairy-tale saw baby Ora whisked away from the magical Kingdom of Poundland to live out her first 18 years of life in Liverpool with her father and her three fairy aunties, after being cursed by the evil fairy Maleffluent. Through trials and tribulations, the group tries to keep Ora safe and hidden from the wicked fairy and her minion, the crow (and he is a crow, he won’t let you forget it). But after 18 years, only her true love Scouse can save her.
“perhaps a sore subject in Liverpool”
The show has earned its 16+ age rating, with consistent swearing (a lot of which comes from a parrot puppet aptly named Chanelle) and several sexual innuendos that had the theatre erupting in laughter. There was also the odd appearance of Joe Anderson, in puppet form of course – perhaps a sore subject in Liverpool but one that warranted a chuckle, nevertheless.
“Maleffluent regularly told audience members to “fuck off””
Taking pride of place as the villains you love to hate were Lindzi Germain and Andrew Schofield as Maleffluent and Crow, an iconic duo that gave the audience no room to breathe between bouts of giggles. Often being the two to break the fourth wall and interact with the audience, Maleffluent regularly told audience members to “fuck off” after being booed for appearing on stage and remarked that she was “off to polish off some pricks, the place is fucking full of them”.
In true pantomime fashion, there is the occasional forgetting of a line, laughing too much to get out the line, or straight-up improvisation, which only seems to add to the comedy. There is nothing funnier to an audience of, albeit drunken, people than a professional being unable to deliver the scripted dialogue, admitting this aloud, and then having to completely wing it.
“although that could also be the booze”
Now, it’s not without its downfalls. The plot is rather simple and the over the top Scouse accents could definitely give someone a bad headache the next day – although that could also be the booze. But it does not force anyone into one of the pantomime’s most feared aspects: audience participation. While there are the traditional phrases that audience members are expected to throw back to those on stage, and a good old-fashioned sing-along, audience members can relax in the knowledge that they will not be dragged up on stage and made a fool of in front of their theatre-going companions.
If the comedy and ridiculousness of it all hadn’t been enough to get you enjoying your time at the show, the musical numbers would have saved it all. Featuring the Royal Court Theatres live band, on stage the entire length of time, the music in Scouse Sleeping Beauty was surprisingly extremely well played. Strong vocals and less than stellar dance moves help to move the story along at a decent pace as people boogie along in their seats, or if you’re of the select brave few, standing.
As far as traditional Christmas pantomimes go, it’s definitely up there with the most amusing of them. With an endless supply of humour, entertaining musical numbers, and slightly inappropriate behaviour, Scouse Sleeping Beauty is surely a fun night out, just make sure to leave the kids at home.
Featured image courtesy of Kilyan Sockalingum on Unsplash. Image licence found here. No changes have been made to this image.
claresellers
I am a 20-year-old multimedia journalism student in my final year studying at the University of Salford
I am yet to see this Scouse panto but really looking forward to it. A good show always presented & this sounds promising from this balanced review .Pantos always over top humour,so adult panto can expect more.