Beauty of a panto at St Andrews' Byre Theatre

In the land of Fantasia Queen Nessie McTeuchter's evil sister Raven La Corbie puts a curse on the Princess Bonnie when she is a baby.
Sleeping Beauty at the Byre Theatre 2018 (pics by Viktoria Begg)Sleeping Beauty at the Byre Theatre 2018 (pics by Viktoria Begg)
Sleeping Beauty at the Byre Theatre 2018 (pics by Viktoria Begg)

The baby’s nanny, Fairy Mary Doll, a fairy in training, casts a spell which means that the baby won’t die, but will simply fall asleep only to be woken again by true love’s kiss.

The witch’s curse will pass when Bonnie (Kirsty Findlay) turns 18 and when the occasion arrives she finds that she has a serious decision to make...

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Packed with boisterous song and dance routines, jokes for the adults, digs at Trump and Brexit as well as deliberately terrible cheese puns, the Byre Theatre’s panto – perhaps Fife’s best kept secret – is a genuinely excellent night out.

Kirsty Findlay as Princess Bonnie McTeuchterKirsty Findlay as Princess Bonnie McTeuchter
Kirsty Findlay as Princess Bonnie McTeuchter

It’s of a consistently high standard year upon year thanks to writer and director Gordon Barr, plus they have a top notch dame in Alan Steele as well as a superb comic performance from Stephanie McGregor as the Princess’s best friend, Minnie McMinxster.

A technical hitch on the night means that the second half has to start again, which the cast effortlessly turn into a joke and as we head towards the conclusion of the story, there is a time travel sequence which is nothing short of a marvel.

Even if you don’t live close by it is well worth the trip to St Andrews to see this production.

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Will Bonnie be packed off to marry a man she doesn’t know? Will Fairy Mary Doll get her wings? And will you, like my wife, get hit full in the face by a flying packet of Haribo?!

Do yourself – and the kids – a favour and go along to find out. You won’t regret it.

Oh no you won’t!