Cast Set For SLEEPING BEAUTY Panto at Corn Exchange Newbury

The full cast has been announced for Corn Exchange Newbury's Christmas pantomime, Sleeping Beauty. With a playful new twist on the beloved fairy tale, returning writers Plested Brown and Wilsher are back to bring this adventure to Newburyshire. Packed with live music, festive surprises and plenty of opportunities to join in, this production is for the whole family. Performances will run Friday 27th November 2026 – Saturday 2nd January 2027.

The action unfolds at the Berkshire School for the Best Behaved, where Headmistress Madam Marvellous struggles to keep her pupils in line. When a wicked fairy casts a terrible spell over Sleeping Beauty, the classroom descends into magical mayhem, leaving the whole school to break the curse before she sleeps through the next century. With mischievous pupils, a fearsome headmistress and a wicked fairy causing trouble, this classic fairy tale gets a playful new school-day twist.

The cast includes Graham Mackay-Bruce (Othello, RSC; The Duchess of Malfi, The Royal Lyceum Theatre) and Jenny Perry (The Phantom of the Opera, European Tour; The Rocky Horror Picture Show, European Tour), who both return following appearances in the venue's previous productions of Beauty and the Beast and Robin Hood and Maid Marian. Mackay-Bruce takes on the role of Madam Marvellous, while Perry returns as Fairy Badflix. After leading last year's merry adventure as Robin Hood, Harry Sweetman (Robin Hood and Maid Marian, Corn Exchange Newbury; Sunday with Sondheim, Newbury Spring Festival at the Watermill Theatre) brings his signature wit and charm to Prince Peter. Also returning is Grace Kelly Miller (Sense and Sensibility, Arches Lane Theatre; Grease, The Vaults London) as Fairy Bejazzle.

Completing the cast are Jacob Aldcroft (A Shoddy Christmas Carol, Shoddy Theatre; Parody of the Rings, The Production Garden) as Mike the Magnificent, Aoife Haakenson as Luna, alongside Annabelle Lee, Elena Christie and Ricardo Mendes all joining the ensemble.

This winter, Plested Brown and Wilsher return with Sleeping Beauty, following their hit Corn Exchange Newbury pantomimes for the last seven years. The trio are a comedy writing team with more than 20 years' experience creating, directing and performing comedy theatre. Individually, the three continue to work across the creative industries, with writing credits including feature films for Sky Original, an animated Christmas feature and award-winning Edinburgh Festival shows. Clare Plested directs this year's original production, created with Newbury actor and writer Adam Brown and writer and director Amanda Wilsher.

The wider creative team include set designer Mark Walters (Glitter Pantomimes), Costume Designer Carl Davies (Vamos Theatre, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Birmingham Rep), choreographer Miranda Wilford (Thriller Live!, Lyric Theatre; Dick Whittington, Corn Exchange Newbury) and musical supervisor Ben Barrow (Little Shop of Horrors, UK Tour). Musical direction will be led by Isabella Guilar (Remember, Remember!, Pleasance Theatre), with lighting design from Gabriel Finn (lenny, Omnibus Theatre; Madwoman of Camden, Red Lion Theatre) and sound design by Nathan Smith.

Sleeping Beauty, supported this year by Rivar Ltd, continues Corn Exchange Newbury's proud tradition of bringing families together at Christmas, welcoming first-time theatregoers and lifelong panto fans alike. With its playful reinvention of a classic fairy tale, the production invites audiences of every generation to share in the joy and unmistakable excitement of live theatre, with a BSL interpreted and relaxed performance on Sunday 6th December at 4pm, a captioned and relaxed performance on Sunday 13th December at 12pm, a further BSL interpreted performance on Tuesday 15th December at 1.30pm, a dementia-friendly performance on Monday 28th December at 1pm, and an audio-described and relaxed performance on Tuesday 29th December at 5pm.