Sleeping Beauty Panto Press Day at Orchard Theatre West Review

DISCLOSURE – THIS EXPERIENCE WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST/S FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW.

Reviewed by Sarah Bryer

The Orchard Theatre is closed for refurbishment, but a few minutes round the corner is Orchard Theatre West, all done up for Christmas.

Sadly the Orchard is closed due to a roof repair, but the council wanted to make sure the Panto was brought back to Dartford, so have worked together to create this flexible space. With a ramp in and everything all on one floor, this venue was accessible for anyone with limited walking ability as well as in a wheelchair.

Once inside the venue we were met with Elves and cheery members of staff checking us in, with a glass of fizz and a mince pie. The venue was filled with Christmas spirit in the form of decorations and several trees.

The bar was fully stocked with items of all price points and plenty of choice for the kids. There were snacks available to purchase which were keenly priced.

The toilets were surprisingly large for this unit, well maintained and kept clean and tidy for the duration.

The children and I were face painted at this event and there was even a grotto, where the children could do some Christmas crafts, including colouring in the Fairy Castle and collecting reindeer food for the special night!

We were treated to meeting the cast of Sleeping Beauty on stage who wowed us with their talents including Simmons and Simmons, a father and son duo who have 80+ years of Panto’ing between them, sharing funny stories and with humour accessible to all ages. We were also greeted with talent show runner up Christian Lee, who reminded me of Lee Evans in his early days, comedic as well as performing tricks with the mayoress of Dartford and the belle of the ball, Sydnie Christmas, a BGT winner and Dartford Local as Fairy Christmas.

We also got to meet the producers and CEO of Imagine Theatre whose aim for the show was about bringing family together. They spoke about bringing together all ages from 3 to 93, but the overarching theme was for everyone to feel like a kid again. We were treated to a couple of renditions of songs from Sydnie’s album including a firm favourite ‘My Way’.

We were sat in a temporary structure, and whilst being a bit chilly, the seats were comfortable, with booster seats available for smaller children. The leg room was plenty and the view was good of the stage. The ‘stalls’ seats were not on a gradient, so the children did have to sit on a booster which is not normally needed in a standard theatre.

Despite being a press performance, it kept us interested, with an amusing compere walking us through the afternoon, the children just getting a bit unsettled as we approached the end.

One this section had finished, we were treated to a sandwich lunch, which catered for Vegan, Gluten Free and the holy grail ‘Plain Cheese’ and ‘Plain Ham’ sandwiches for the kids.

The mince pies were a plenty and there were sweets and cakes available for the rest of our time there.

We really enjoyed the visit and appreciated a lot of work had gone into making this temporary structure as welcoming and festive as possible. The Orchard West has Sleeping Beauty there from Sat 14 Dec 2024 – Sun 5 Jan 2025 and looks like it will be a great show. We can’t wait to go back.

Sleeping Beauty is at Orchard Theatre West, 20-54 Hythe Street, Dartford, Kent, DA1 1BX from Sat 14 Dec 2024 – Sun 5 Jan 2025

For more information or to book tickets visit: trafalgartickets.com or call the box office on 0343 310 0033

Tickets from £27 up to £49
Rating: 5/5