THE Upstagers annual family pantomime is almost upon us.

This year will see the theatre group perform Sleeping Beauty at the King’s Hall in Ilkley between January 25 and February 2, 2019 with ten performances in all including three matinees.

An Upstagers spokesman said: “The show is a traditional telling of one of the classic pantomime tales aimed squarely at a family audience.

“The earliest known version of the story dates back to the 14th century but the tale that we know and love of a beautiful princess, a sleeping enchantment and a handsome prince was first performed as a pantomime in London in 1806, almost 80 years before Tchaikovsky wrote his famous ballet. Our story tells of the beautiful Princess Aurora who is born in the Kingdom of Olicania and who is cursed by the evil fairy Maleficent at her christening to prick her finger on a spinning wheel before she comes of age and sleep for 100 years.

“Good King Septimus the Seventh attempts to protect his daughter by destroying all the spinning wheels in the kingdom and, with the help of Nanny Nora and her son Willy, the Princess manages to stay out of trouble until the day of her 18th birthday.

“Will Princess Aurora manage to stay away from craft based activities until the end of the day? Will she meet and fall in love with a handsome Prince who happens to be travelling to Olicania? Will the evil fairy Maleficent reap spectacular havoc by tempting the Princess to seal her own fate and prick her finger? Why not come along to the King’s Hall and find out? Packed full of family fun, superb songs, spectacular dance numbers and some of the worst jokes seen on stage since last year’s pantomime, this is a show not to be missed.”

Reprising their hugely successful and award winning roles from last year’s pantomime are Elliot Broadfoot as the Dame and Joey Wilby as Willy and they are being ably supported by a talented cast of local performers.

The co-director of the show, Andrew Hewitt said: “We have another amazing show on the cards again this year. The team have been working tirelessly to put on a pantomime that we think is going to raise the roof of The King’s Hall.

“Last year’s production of Aladdin received such a great reception from our audiences and went on to win numerous awards including the most prestigious Best Pantomime and Best Pantomime Dame of 2018 at the theatrical festival competition for this part of Yorkshire, so we are determined to put on another spectacular family pantomime.

“The cast, from the main principal performers right down to our younger tinies, are so looking forward to entertaining the audiences that we love to see coming through the doors. I’d urge everyone to come along to support our local performers and have a great time whilst doing so.”

Tickets for the pantomime are available on the Upstagers website www.upstagers.org.uk/boxoffice, by calling 0333 666 3366 or by calling the local box office on 01943 607944 (restricted hours apply).