Craig Revel Horwood discusses panto changes ahead of Bristol Sleeping Beauty role
Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood, who plays Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty at the Bristol Hippodrome this December, said pantomimes are changing storylines and character names for modern audiences. Horwood called some changes "weird" but said the overall modernisation has worked well.
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The story, neutrally told
Right · 2Craig Revel Horwood, the 61-year-old Strictly Come Dancing judge, has described changes being made to British pantomimes to suit modern audiences. GB NewsR “Craig Revel Horwood, the 61-year-old Strictly Come Dancing judge” Read at GB News ↗ Daily MailR “Craig, 61, shared that in his production the traditional ending has been changed” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Right · 2Horwood is due to play the villain Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty at the Bristol Hippodrome in December. Daily MailR “The dancer is set to play the villain Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty at the Bristol Hippodrome in December” Read at Daily Mail ↗ GB NewsR “preparing to take on the role of the wicked fairy Carabosse at Bristol Hippodrome this December” Read at GB News ↗ Right · 2GB News reports that Horwood made the comments to the Cheltenham Literature Festival, and both outlets quote remarks that were also reported by The Telegraph. GB NewsR “told the Cheltenham Literature Festival that producers have been forced to rethink cherished storylines” Read at GB News ↗ Daily MailR “As reported by The Telegraph, he added” Read at Daily Mail ↗
Right · 2On the Sleeping Beauty kiss, Horwood said: "It's a non-consensual kiss nowadays", asking how the story can work when the princess is asleep and cannot consent. Daily MailR “It's a non-consensual kiss nowadays.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ GB NewsR “So how are you going to tell the story where he comes and wakes her up after 100 years by kissing her if she can't consent because she's asleep?” Read at GB News ↗ Right · 2According to Horwood, the fix is an earlier scene in which the prince and Princess Aurora meet, clearly fall in love and "steal a kiss", so the later kiss is consensual. GB NewsR “the prince meets her in a scene early on, you see they clearly fall in love, they steal a kiss, so it's consensual.” Read at GB News ↗ Daily MailR “audiences will see the Prince and Princess Aurora fall in love earlier in the show so that their kiss will appear consensual” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Right · 2Horwood also said that the "ugly" daughters in the show can no longer be called ugly, "because no one is ugly", and cannot be fat-shamed, so they are now "the sisters"; Horwood added "it's a bit weird, isn't it?" Daily MailR “they're not allowed to be called ugly anymore because no one is ugly.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ GB NewsR “So, now they're called the sisters. Yeah, it's a bit weird, isn't it?” Read at GB News ↗
Right · 2Snow White's title has been changed to drop "and the seven dwarves". Daily MailR “Snow White's title changed to remove '...and the seven dwarves'” Read at Daily Mail ↗ GB NewsR “its full title stripped of the reference to "the seven dwarves"” Read at GB News ↗ Right · 2Despite calling some changes odd, Horwood said the "woke thing really has gone brilliantly well" and that it keeps pantos current. Horwood also said more pantos are being reinvented than lost, according to GB News. GB NewsR “the woke thing really has gone brilliantly well”“there are more pantos being reinvented than we are losing them because everyone is coming around to recreating them.” Read at GB News ↗ Daily MailR “he largely feels changes to the classic pantomimes to reflect modern audiences have been a success” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Right · 2Both outlets add earlier panto rows: in 2024 the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, issued content warnings for its Aladdin and pulled a Mother Goose song about vegans after complaints that it could encourage bullying. Daily MailR “The theatre pulled a song from Mother Goose after several audience members complained that the lyrics about vegans would lead to bullying.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ GB NewsR “The same venue pulled a song from its Mother Goose production after complaints that lyrics mocking vegans could encourage bullying.” Read at GB News ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right2 outlets
- Framing
- Both outlets present the interview as evidence of a "woke" overhaul of pantomime, leading with the Sleeping Beauty kiss and the renamed "ugly" sisters, and link it to earlier panto controversies.
- Emphasis
- The consent rationale for the kiss, the renamed characters, and past Everyman Theatre rows over trigger warnings and a vegan song. The Daily Mail adds an Aladdin cast row; GB News stresses that Horwood welcomed the changes.
- Leaves out or plays down
- The Daily Mail headline says bosses "scrapped" the kiss, though Horwood describes it as kept with an earlier scene. The Daily Mail gives Horwood's overall support for the changes only briefly, and neither outlet includes producers' or theatres' own explanation of the changes for this production.
- Charged language
- “woke pantomimes”“woke overhaul”“woke transformations infiltrating Britain's pantomime tradition”“political correctness”
- For example
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“Strictly's Craig Revel Horwood blasts woke pantomimes for 'weird' changes after bosses scrapped Sleeping Beauty kiss and axed 'ugly' characters” — Daily Mail
“has shed light on the woke transformations infiltrating Britain's pantomime tradition” — GB News
“Despite acknowledging the overhauls to some of panto's most beloved tales, Mr Horwood refused to condemn the tweaks” — GB News
What every side reports
- Horwood, 61, is a Strictly Come Dancing judge due to play Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty at the Bristol Hippodrome in December.
- Horwood said the kiss is problematic for consent and that an earlier scene is added to make it consensual.
- The "ugly" sisters are now called "the sisters" in Horwood's production.
- Snow White's title has dropped "and the seven dwarves".
- Horwood largely supports the modernisation of pantos.
Where accounts differ
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Whether the Sleeping Beauty kiss has been scrapped
- Right
- The Daily Mail headline and lede say bosses scrapped the kiss; GB News says it was removed over consent concerns, though its text quotes Horwood describing an earlier scene in which the characters "steal a kiss" so the kiss is consensual.
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Whether Horwood criticises or backs the changes
- Right
- The Daily Mail headline says Horwood "blasts" the changes as "weird", while its text and GB News report that Horwood largely supports them and said Horwood "refused to condemn the tweaks".
Craig Revel Horwood person
Horwood says some changes are "weird" but that modernising pantos is broadly good, calling "the wokeness" "great" because it keeps shows current.
“The wokeness I think is great because it brings in everyone the more they keep changing a panto, and keeping it current, the better it is.” — GB News
“Yeah, it's a bit weird, isn't it?” — Daily Mail
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right2 articles
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Critical Headline frames Horwood as blasting "woke" panto changes and bosses scrapping the kiss, then lists other theatre controversies.
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GB NewsR ·
Craig Revel Horwood reveals Sleeping Beauty panto has scrapped iconic kiss as part of woke overhaul
Critical Presents the interview as revealing a "woke" overhaul, while reporting that Horwood welcomed the changes overall.
- 17 Oct 08:48 First Daily MailR Strictly's Craig Revel Horwood blasts woke pantomimes for 'weird' changes after bosses scrapped Sleeping Beauty kiss and axed 'ugly' characters
- 17 Oct 19:56 +11h 8m GB NewsR Craig Revel Horwood reveals Sleeping Beauty panto has scrapped iconic kiss as part of woke overhaul
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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