Sleeping Beauty – quality pantomime that packs a punch without burning a hole in your pocket (Brassneck at St Comgall’s until Sunday 22 December)

Brassneck Theatre Company are back with their ‘People’s Panto’ after the success of Cinderella at The Devenish Hotel last year. Ticket prices have remained the same (£8 children/£12 adults) but the venue has switched to St Comgall’s off Divis Street.

Fairy Up-Liquid waves her magic bubble wand and transports us back to The Felons nearly 16 years ago when her niece Our Ora (‘Aurora’) was christened. Horrible sister Mallory put a curse on the wain and a finger prick will lead to death on her 16th birthday unless she’s kissed by her true love. So for more than a decade, Our Ora has been hiding out in Lisburn (well, Poleglass). But now, her potentially fatal birthday party is only around the corner.

Writer Neil Keery has once again rustled up a script that is packed with panto punch and this year tells the story of Sleeping Beauty. Early on we get a sense of the updated tone of the show when the audience are reminded that barely any of them has seen a spinning wheel so that can hardly be the cause of the titular character’s misfortune.

Keery also stars as the dame, barracking the audience to their utter delight. The evil, cackling, catfishing sister Mallory – “like a dirty cold sore, always turning up when you’re not wanted” – is brought to life by an animated Rosie McClelland (who also designed the costumes). Vicky Allen plays a crow, a spaced-out apprentice baddie called Wingnut who gets a lovely second act duet with Ora. Darren Franklin is cast as hunky Sailor Twift, a big pop sensation who Ora (Sharon Duffy) duets with online and later gets to meet.

Directors Fionnuala Kennedy and Tony Devlin have the cast of five bouncing around the stage, popping out of nowhere to emphasise regular moments of political commentary, and singing and dancing their way through Katie Richardson’s boppy playlist of original music and TikTok hits. Adults will pick up on the jokes that sail over the children’s heads (like the new recipe website, OnlyFlans). Youngsters will regularly break loose from their parents’ grip and gather at the front of the stage in awe at the colourful goings on. While chaotic, it’s a sign that the show is reaching its audience.

I attended a Saturday matinee and the audience was full of families, grandparents, residents from a local centre, and there was even a shoutout for 96 year old Rose who got a special chorus of Happy Birthday.

The harsh acoustic properties of the St Comgall’s enclosed courtyard venue, on top of the raucous audience, work against lyrical clarity during the songs, but the dialogue is very clear.

Favourite moments include McClelland’s Scottish accent when Mallory pretends to be a mobile ear piercer from Clure’s Accessories and anytime Allen gets to dance like a crow. The modern take on the ancient tale calls out the ‘prince’ (in this case, pop idol) when he attempts to kiss a sleeping girl without her consent, and another more wholesome solution has to be found to wake narcoleptic Ora.

Sleeping Beauty continues at St Comgall’s until Sunday 22 December.

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