Sleeping Beauty At Mountsorrel Memorial Centre, Leicestershire Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by H Whetton
Lights are in the windows, the trees are up that must mean that it is Panto season, oh yes, it is. Tonight, we had an opportunity to watch and review Sleeping Beauty the Pantomime at the MMC Venue in Mountsorrel, Leicestershire.
I must admit I live approximately 25 minutes away from the MMC and we had never been before tonight, the venue is lovely, it is not massive, it seats just over 200 people, it has a nice contemporary feel to the place, nice and airy and it is fully accessible, it has a nice bar which is not over expensive. The MMC Venue also has free parking which nowadays is a bonus. All the staff were helpful and friendly.
I think that most people know the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty, well Sleeping Beauty the pantomime tells the same fairy tale in a much more amusing way. As all good pantomimes you need a pantomime dame, this came as Queenie, princess Aurora’s mum, she was fantastic, she did a great job encouraging the audience to participate, her costumes were hilarious, she had so many costume changes, my favourite being the table.
All the costumes were great, but Queenie had the best wardrobe, followed by Molevola. Molevola was our favourite character, we love a good baddie, she also had an incredible voice.
I must mention the young people who performed in the pantomime tonight they were fantastic. The whole cast were great, so it was hard to choose a favourite.
The pantomime itself had everything one would expect from a pantomime, there was lots of audience participation, some very tongue in cheek humour, some outrageous costumes, singing, a bit cheesy at times but finished on a nice moral at the end.
There was plenty of laughter from the children and the adults in the audience, you definitely needed to be of a certain age to get some of the puns. The director adapted the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty well, it flowed nicely, and was really funny.
The only negative thing I have to say is that the sound seemed slightly off, it was very hard to hear them singing at times, and we were sat quite close to the front, however, it was the opening night and there is often a glitch or two.
One of our favourite parts was closer to the end where they are trying to find the gargoyle, it had great audience participation and humour. I also loved Molevola’s pet baby dragon it was very cute.
The stage set up was quite basic, however with the use of lighting and smoke it did not matter, they used the whole stage to great effect.
The MMC also work with Talegate, which is a charity that helps disadvantage families access the theatre. when you purchase ant ticket you can donate a ticket, also around the venue you will see QR codes that will link you to Talegate’s site to donate. I think that this is a fantastic idea making the theatre open to everyone.
Sleeping Beauty, the Pantomime at the MMC Venue, is a funny, family friendly Christmas treat for the whole family, granny and grandads included. it is worth a visit if you are looking for a family treat. Being a smaller theatre, the ticket prices are a lot cheaper than most of the bigger theatres. Adult tickets are £19.00, Child ticket £17.00 and a family ticket is £65.00.
Sleeping Beauty, the Pantomime is running from Sunday 14th December 2025 until 23rd of December 2025.
We give Sleeping Beauty, the Pantomime at the MMC Venue 4/5
Rating: 4/5
Mountsorrel Memorial Centre,
105 Leicester Road, Leicestershire LE12 7DB.
Box Office is open 10-2pm Monday – Saturday
01162304877
Picture taken from the MMC website.
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