Barrie Hunter writes, directs and plays Dame Livvie McSkivvie in Perth Theatre's Sleeping Beauty, which runs from 27 November to 31 December 2026 with a company of nine.
Barrie Hunter, a regular at the heart of the Perth Theatre pantomime, is back in the frock this Christmas as Dame Livvie McSkivvie in Sleeping Beauty, which he has also written and directed. The show plays Perth Theatre from 27 November to 31 December 2026, with its opening night on Saturday 28 November at 7pm.
Jessica Donnelly, recently in Gallus in Weegieland, takes the title role as Aurora Angus, while Lauren Ellis-Steele, from The High Life - Still Living It!, plays the villain, Malania The Mirthless. Aurora's parents, Lady Annie Angus and Sir Coupar Angus, are played by Fiona Wood (The Great Gatsby) and Greg Powrie (Frankenstein).
Ewan Somers returns to Perth after The Snow Queen to play the Dame's son, Murray McSkivvie. Martin Murphy (Aladdie) is Hamish and Jen Cassidy, in her first pantomime, is Claire Bouyant; both also join the ensemble. Brooke Robertson (Rent) completes the company as off-stage swing and dance captain.
Hunter's version moves the fairy tale to a Scottish estate. The Laird and his wife are celebrating the birth of their daughter at The Big Hoose when Annie's banished sister turns up with a curse: if Aurora pricks her finger on a spinning wheel before she turns 21, she will fall into a Deep Sleep. The baby is smuggled off to The Wee Hoose, passed off as "Rory" and brought up by Livvie and Murray, a gifted young cook with a weakness for pies, with a local psychic and a very loud audience called on to see the curse off.
The production reunites the creative team from Perth Theatre's The Snow Queen, named Outstanding Pantomime at the 2025 Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS). Alongside Hunter are musical director Alan Penman, associate director and choreographer Chris Stuart Wilson, lighting designer Wayne Dowdeswell and set and costume designer Becky Minto.
Tickets for every performance are on sale now, and the show runs at around two hours.
For more information, visit the official website.
