Ore Oduba and Carrie Hope Fletcher to star in the Sleeping Beauty panto at Canterbury

Carrie Hope Fletcher will be starring as the villainous Carabosse in the Sleeping Beauty pantomime this year alongside Ore Oduba (Rocky Horror Show) as Prince Orlando at The Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury from 25 November 2022 to 8 January 2023. It is written and directed by Paul Hendy and co-produced by The Marlowe and Evolution Productions,

The cast also includes  Jennie Dale (CBeebies' Swashbuckle) as Fairy Moonbeam, Ben Roddy (Doctor Faustus) as The Dame, Max Fulham (CBBC's Crackerjack) as Jangles and Ellie Kingdon (Grease) as Aurora.

Fletcher said: "I'm so excited. I didn't see a panto until I was 19, that was my first experience of panto. I love it so much. I love how out there they are, I love that they use songs that everyone knows, I love all of the outlandish characters and I love the audience participation.The fact that I was asked to play the villain was a very, very big draw for me. Wednesday Addams was probably the closest I ever got to playing a villain and I really enjoyed playing a slightly darker character and so just playing an outright villain is going to be so much fun. I don't think I've ever looked forward to being booed before!"

Oduba added: "In many ways I feel like I was made for panto because I love having that rapport with the audience, I'm a family guy myself and I love the idea of families coming to see the show. I know that everybody loves The Marlowe panto. It's such a popular experience for everybody around Christmas so I feel really privileged and lucky to be part of this amazing group and part of the show. We're going to have fun."