Justine Brooks (age 42) and Leela (age 9) went to see Sleeping Beauty at West Yorkshire Playhouse. Afterwards they had a bit of a chat about it …
Justine: What were you expecting?
Leela: I was expecting something a bit like the Disney film of Sleeping Beauty
Justine: And it really wasn’t like that at all!
Leela: No. Not at all. It’s really good – kind of wild, kind of crazy, with lots of singing and dancing. And it was really funny!
Justine: I loved the set – the huge beautiful lanterns and the felt rose garlands entwined with fairy lights that descended from the ceiling. It was really crafty and colourful. I liked the way that knitting, felting and all things crafty were woven into the story – after all, Sleeping Beauty is a story about a spinning wheel …
Leela: I liked looking at how the set works – there were trap doors and lights and it was interesting how things came down from the ceiling. I saw a shadow of someone right up above us feeding the felt garland down onto the stage. It must have taken ages to make all those felt garlands. They were really pretty. And I liked the music. It fitted in with the story. It was a bit wild! All the actors played different instruments: electric guitar, guitar, drums (with glowing drumsticks which they also used as wands) and mandolin.
Justine: The music was great. It was like the costumes – folksy and a bit gypsy – like something from Eastern Europe: Hungary or Romania.
Leela: I liked the beginning because it was really noisy. The actors made lots of noise as they came in. The baby was crying and they were all talking and chatting. Throughout the play they kept asking children in the audience if they could hold the baby and then they kept forgetting who they’d left it with! I was glad they didn’t ask me but I would have liked to go up on the stage like some of the children did.
Justine: But you did go onto the stage at the end! I saw you dancing there!
Leela: That was fun. And we got to play musical statues. That was awesome!
Justine: I was a bit worried before we went that it would be for younger children and that someone your age wouldn’t enjoy it.
Leela: I thought that too but it wasn’t. There were people of all ages there. Teenagers too. I think it’s a brilliant play. It’s the best play I’ve ever seen!
Justine: And you’ve seen lots!
Leela: I think the Nannas were really good. The actors were very good at their job, and really clever because they played different parts. My favourite was probably Bad Nanna Sandra because she was really good at her part. And she played the accordion really well too.
Justine: I liked her too. But my favourite had to be Simon Kerrigan, who played Noo Noo Nanna, who was always knitting impossibly long scarves and was really really funny. You didn’t see this, but at one point (when he was playing The Prince), he came up behind you and pretended to chop off your head with his sword! He was also brilliant as the frog who tells the queen she’s going to have a baby. Maybe the world’s first Elvis frog …
Leela: I’m going tell my class about it on Monday in Show & Tell. I think they would love it too. I want to go and see it again!