Panto is fun... oh, yes it is - with Gary: Tank Commander, Alan McHugh as Nurse Nellie MacDuff, and PJ Corrigan as Slimeball. Image - Aberdeen Performing Arts.
Ever wonder what would happen if you dropped Gary: Tank Commander into the middle of a panto? The superb knockabout fun of Sleeping Beauty at His Majesty’s Theatre, that’s what.
It’s a touch of genius that the Scots comedy legend doesn’t become a pantomime character, but stays very firmly the amazin’ Gary, cheesy pasta and all.
Some of the biggest laughs come from his slightly bewildered asides at being in a world of fairies, sorceresses, princes, princesses and dames – “Ah huv no idea, what’s goin’ on, but let’s just go with it.”
And who knew that you could have more than 1,000 people in stitches at regular intervals with just two words – “Ah’m, Gary”.
Glorious festive joy with the cast of Sleeping Beauty at His Majesty's Theatre. Image - Aberdeen Performing Arts.
Credit is due to Gary’s creator, Greg McHugh, for staying so strictly in character in the comedic mayhem that breaks out around him – gleefully aided and abetted by the actor himself.
And Sleeping Beauty is very much a panto that leans into the comedy this year as the dream team of HMT’s pantomime is reunited on stage – Alan McHugh as the dame Nurse Nellie MacDuff, PJ Corrigan as the not-at-all evil henchman Slimeball and Danielle Jam as the magical Spirit Of Pantomime.
If you were wondering how it would work with PJ and Alan not in double act mode as the dame and her daft laddie, fear not. PJ brings that charming, clumsy shtick to life – just on a different part of the stage. The chemistry and magic between the two is still very much intact.
Gary: Tank Commander is a blast in Sleeping Beauty at HMT. Image - Aberdeen Performing Arts.
And Danielle, fresh from her triumphant turn in Dracula: Mina’s Reckoning, has a ball as the magical Spirit up against the deliciously villainous baddie Carabosse (an outstanding Julie Combe) who is out to do away with Princess Aurora (an enchanting turn from Jemma Ferries)
With Alan once again tripling up as director, writer and actor (this is his 19th year as HMT’s dame) Sleeping Beauty is packed full of the belly laughs and slapstick we have all come to know and love.
The tongue twister sequence involving who sits where someone has sat to shine their shoes is a brilliant bit of wordplay with Alan, PJ and Gary. And the Tank Commander manages not to hit the Spoonerims. Almost.
Gary: Tank Commander and Alan McHugh as Nurse Nellie MacDuff in Sleeping Beauty. Image - Aberdeen Performing Arts.
One-liners come thick and fast, with one Viagra quip deserving the huge belly laugh it earned, while the local references and Doric sprinkled throughout the script bring north-east magic.
But the highlight must be the knockabout 12 Days of Christmas slapstick routine which sees Alan, Gary, PJ, Danielle and Michael Karl-Lewis – who is a very charming Prince Angus – have an absolute hoot on stage with a series of unlikely props.
They look like they are having just as much fun as the audience, who also get involved in the action when the five lavvy rolls end up in the auditorium. That’s how to get an entire audience chanting “Gary, Gary, Gary, Gary!
Brilliant gleeful stuff, just like the whole panto.
Jemma Ferries as Princess Aurora and Michael Karl-Lewis as Prince Angus in Sleeping Beauty. Image - Aberdeen Performing Arts
There is, as always, the spectacular side of Sleeping Beauty, from the sets to the costumes, the big song-and-dance numbers to the “how-do-they-do-that” flying hoverboard sequence that sees Nurse Nellie bring the first act to a soaring end.
But at the heart of Sleeping Beauty is the warmth and sense of joy that every single member of the cast brings to the show. It exudes from the stage and warms the hearts of everyone watching. You can tell by the gleeful grins from start to finish – along with the enthusiastic cheering, booing and “oh-no-you-won’t-ing”
His Majesty’s panto really is the spirit of Aberdeen’s Christmas. So, get along and enjoy it.
The run ends on Sunday, 7 January. For more information and tickets visit here.
Review by Scott Begbie, Aberdeen Inspired.
Danielle Jam brings the Spirit of Pantomime to life in Sleeping Beauty. Image - Aberdeen Performing Arts.