SLEEPING BEAUTY BECOMES BIGGEST SELLING PANTOMIME IN THEATRE ROYAL HISTORY

Sales for Newcastle Theatre Royal's spectacular 2011 / 12 pantomime, Sleeping Beauty, have once again exceeded Box Office expectations making it the biggest and fastest selling pantomime in Theatre Royal history.

Sleeping Beauty -- The Pantomime of Your Dreams! went on sale at the beginning of November last year to meet the high demand for tickets, and already over 75,000 tickets have been sold (3000 more than at the same time last year). Sales in excess of £1 million were also reached three weeks earlier than in 2010. Theatre Royal pantomimes are known to sell faster than any other pantomime in the UK, with customers eager to book before the best seats go, and this year is no exception.

Demand for tickets for the show, widely regarded as the biggest and best pantomime in the region, has been so high that in February this year the producers decided to extend the run by an additional week, and it will now run until Saturday 21 January 2012.

Sleeping Beauty -- The Pantomime of Your Dreams! is another dazzling pantomime spectacular, featuring breathtaking and technologically-advanced special effects. Multi-award-winning pantomime legends Danny Adams and Clive Webb are back again by overwhelming popular demand playing Muddles and The King respectively, supported by the North East's most famous Dame, Chris Hayward, in his 27th panto appearance, this time as The Queen. It is also the first pantomime to be shown in the Theatre's multi-million pound restored auditorium.

Sleeping Beauty is one of the most traditional and popular pantomimes of all time. It tells the story of the ill-fated princess who falls foul of the curse of a bad fairy, pricks her finger on a spinning wheel and falls asleep for a hundred years, only to be woken by the kiss of a handsome prince. Muddles is the Palace's comic Kitchen Hand inexorably entwined in the action and romance of the story.

Produced by Qdos Entertainment, the world's largest pantomime producer, Sleeping Beauty - the Pantomime of your Dreams is staged by the same team that has presented the last seven record-breaking pantomimes at Newcastle Theatre Royal.

This is the seventh Theatre Royal pantomime written and produced by Newcastle-born West End producer Michael Harrison, following hot on the heels of
last year's spectacular pantomime Robin Hood.

Michael Harrison, producer, revealed: "The Theatre Royal panto is already well established at the top of the country's pantomime league and this year's raises the bar even higher. The special effects are breathtaking -- and combined with lots of great magic and comedy, stunning costumes and choreography, as well as a REAL sportscar! -- it is the only show to see this Christmas."

Philip Bernays, Chief Executive of Theatre Royal Newcastle, said: "With a record number of tickets sold well ahead of opening, Sleeping Beauty is the most successful pantomime ever staged at the Theatre. Audiences can expect an incredible show in a spectacular setting!"

Sleeping Beauty is kindly supported by Media Partners The Evening Chronicle and Metro Radio.

Sleeping Beauty -- the Pantomime of your Dreams will appear at the Theatre Royal until Saturday 21 January 2012. Tickets are priced at £10.50 - £27.50 and can be purchased from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 08448 11 21 21 or select your own seat and book online at www.theatreroyal.co.uk.