Claire Sweeney & Co get ready for Sleeping Beauty at St Helens Theatre Royal this half-term

St Helens’ spellbinding pantomime Sleeping Beauty is just one month away.

Sleeping Beauty put together by Regal Entertainments will awaken at St Helens Theatre Royal from Saturday 21 – Sunday 29 October, just in time for a fantastic half term treat!

Producers recently announced the first wave of confirmed cast which includes star of West End and TV, Liverpool’s own Claire Sweeney as the evil fairy Carabosse along with Laura Gregory, Tam Ryan and Simon Foster.

Jess Pritchard is sure to wow the audience with her magical portrayal of Fairy Sparkle. Jess is a Chester born actress who recently graduated from Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts before starring in her first professional productions Women Beware Women and Constance and Sinestra. Catch Jess as she makes her panto debut and waves the magic wand over an awestruck audience this October.

Starring as this year’s handsome Prince is Corey Rumble whose dashing looks will no doubt cast a spell over St Helens. Corey graduated from Liverpool Theatre School back in 2016 and quickly secured his first role as Hal Brandon in the new Liverpool based musical Liver Birdsong last year. He recently came off a UK tour performing hit songs by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and the Rat Pack! Corey completes the all-star cast that swings into St Helens in just one month’s time.

Corey Rumble

Previously announced star of stage and screen Claire Sweeney will be transformed into the evil fairy Carabosse, who curses Princess Aurora, tricking her into an eternal slumber. The former Brookside actress and West End star is no stranger to panto, having played a number of roles – oh yes she has! – over the years. Her most recent stage roles meanwhile include Baroness Bomburst in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Velma von Tussle in Hairspray, both on national tours.

Laura Gregory returns to the role of the eponymous beautiful princess, cursed to fall asleep until a handsome suitor wakes her with true love’s kiss, after also playing Aurora at St Helens in 2015 when she beat 90 other actresses to the part. Her other panto credits include Cinderella at St Helens in 2015 and Wendy in Peter Pan last year, as well as Snow White and Aladdin at the Epstein Theatre in Liverpool.

Actor and entertainer Tam Ryan, who is playing Chester the Jester, is best-known for his scene-stealing roles in Manchester Opera House pantomimes like Snow White, Peter Pan and Cinderella. But he also recently went on tour with none other than The Hoff in the musical Last Night a DJ Saved My Life, and has played Thomas Cromwell no less in A Man for All Seasons as well as Beast in Beauty and the Beast.

Completing the line-up and ready to bring this enchanting tale to life is St Helens’ resident Dame, Simon Foster, bringing his slapstick fun and chaos to the stage as Dame Queenie.

Jess Pritchard

Sleeping Beauty tells the enchanting tale of Princess Aurora, who is cursed by the evil fairy Carabosse after failing to receive an invite to the Royal Christening, claiming that if the Princess pricks her finger, she will die. Years later at her 16^thbirthday, Aurora is tricked into piercing her finger on a spinning wheel by the evil fairy. After the curse is countered by the Lilac Fairy, Aurora instead falls into a deep and eternal slumber, which can only be broken by a kiss from her true love.

Will the beautiful princess find her true love and be freed from the evil fairy’s curse? What fate awaits the evil fairy? Set your alarms and get down to St Helens Theatre Royal this October for a truly magical adventure.

Chantelle Nolan, Theatre Manager said: “St Helens Theatre Royal is absolutely delighted to announce the full casting for its October half term pantomime Sleeping Beauty! We are thrilled to have local actors Jess Pritchard and Corey Rumble join an already stellar cast and can’t wait to see them onstage as the Prince and the Fairy. With rehearsals soon to be underway, we’re looking forward to getting panto back on the Theatre Royal stage for the families of St Helens. If you haven’t already booked your ticket, what are you waiting for?!”