The next blog post comes from our very own Boggers, Luke Clow!

Hello and welcome to the new instalment of the SMP Blog! This time I take up the (virtual) pen to bring you the updates on another exciting week of fun! I’m playing the character of Boggers which is an absolute laugh riot of a part! Together with my partner in crime and, indeed, grime in this show (Sniffles – played by Sasha, who wrote last weeks’ instalment) we’re going to have a brilliant time and do our best to steal the whole show. As Sasha mentioned in last week’s blog, we spent last week setting some of our scenes and learning a song that we get to bring to you all. Well this week we got to set the dance to that song. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but it’s absolutely AWESOME!!!! As soon as we heard that we’d get to do this song in the panto we were buzzing to get in and set the dance.

Well – that was this Monday! So – our lovely choreographer Fay Kemal brought us in and once I’d explained that I currently am recovering from a bad dose of Whooping Cough and thus a less vigorous dance routine might be a good idea – she caringly set a routine that left me a sweaty broken mess upon the floor. It was BRILLIANT! It wasn’t just me left broken by the routine, even those far fitter, more flexible and crucially younger were also knackered by the end! It should make for a fantastic routine in the show – but if I do end up with Pneumonia from the exertion I’m blaming you Fay!!

Wednesday saw us come together with our MD, the talented Mr Mike Benyon, to set some more solo/duet/trios. There was some fantastic sounds coming out of the rehearsal room and indeed myself, Sniffle and Malevolent learned a brilliant song that I’m really excited to sing. It’s dark and moody and then unleashes in a kind of rock style towards the end. It’s already sounding fantastic and there’s going to be a layer of chorus harmonies added to it as well so that should be a number to really look forwards to.

We also heard some lovely stuff from our Prince and our Princess Aurora on the night as well. Their song together is sure to be a smash hit with all the kids in our audience (including those young at heart) and had us humming and singing along as we listened in through the door.

There was also lots going on in terms of costumes beginning to be put together and finalised for some people – that’s always a very exciting time as it suddenly becomes way more real as a show and we start to identify with our characters more. The next few weeks should be really fun with pulling all the different strands together more and we can’t wait for people to come along and see the show, it’s looking to be the #BestPantoEver!

This week our blog comes from Angela Thompson our very own Queen! Enjoy!

What does your Internet history say about you??

I walk into the hall beaming. Today’s rehearsal is for all principal cast. I’ve been flirting with the world of showbiz nearly all my life and though I can claim some childhood television success, this is the first time I’ve ever been cast as a principal in a stage production. (I may, or may not, have celebrated this fact with a magnum of champagne..)

I’ll be playing Queen Rubina, Sleeping Beauty’s mother, and I’m delighted to have landed this part. Last weekend I had my 6 year old daughter reading lines with me so I could be “off script” for my audition piece. I also had my 4 year old son watching YouTube clips with me so that I could learn the audition song, which it turns out, will be the opening number of the show. As you can see, landing this role is a family victory 🙂 Back to tonight and we’re all given a copy of the script, ready to begin a full read through. As I look around at the rest of the principals, I feel some nerves start to mix in with my excitement. I may be the oldest in the room, but I am dwarfed by experience. There is some serious acting talent in here!

As the rehearsal gets under way, we all get into character and the nerves melt away. This is the first time we have read through the whole show together and we all find ourselves laughing hysteri-cally at the classic panto jokes and people’s interpretations of their characters. This is going to be one fun show to watch, that’s for certain. There are several cast members missing tonight so we all jump in to read their lines throughout the evening. A particular highlight was Warren, who is playing Nurse Nelly, spending one scene reading in for Princess Aurora..

Elsewhere this week, I’ve been discussing Queen Rubina’s style with our wonderful head of cos-tumes, and choreographer, Fay. Drawing on some of my favourite Queen characters, I’ve had some fun researching a variety of wigs and jewellery for the show. Needless to say, my Amazon “inspired by your browsing history” product suggestions are now more than a little bizarre..

Our first blog comes from our director Chris O’Shea, here’s his thoughts on our first week:

So I am kicking off the SMP’s Sleeping Beauty blog. Rehearsals are now underway with a successful bunch of auditions. I couldn’t quite believe the talent I witnessed and could not be more excited to direct a show with such a fabulous group of performers. Not only have I got a brilliant cast, I also have to mention the amazing production team: Fay our choreographer and Mike our musical director.

This will be my directing debut with SMP, which is nerve-racking and exciting, but I am determined, with this production team and cast to make this the #BestPantoEver.

We have made a start with our opening number, and let’s just say, its sounding and looking amazing. We have our first acting rehearsal on Wednesday which I am thoroughly looking forward to. I can’t wait to watch these characters really come alive.

On Saturday and Sunday we attended the Enfield Town Show, while some of the cast members performed a variety of songs and flyered the public. Ticket sales are on the move, and even though it may sound early to book tickets, it really isn’t. If you want good seats, get booking. While rehearsals have only just begun, I can tell you, this show is not to be missed.