SLEEPING Beauty is an old faithful when it comes to Christmas pantomime, but The Helix and Landmark Productions have set out to do something different this year with their version, A Wicked Fairytale. What's different about this is that it doesn't feel like pantomime. In fact, it feels more like a regular play, albeit one tailored towards children.

Although there is a recommendation that this is a play for children over six years old, there are plenty below that age present and they do pay the price as some of the content is a little too scary from them.

Rufus Norris's faithful take on the original tale of Sleeping Beauty sees the introduction of ogres, fairies, slaves, and quite a bit of death. There are some songs scattered through the play (played on the acoustic guitar by Phelim Drew who is part of the ensemble cast). The costumes are not your average garish, shiny, sparkly panto outfits either, rather they are made from natural-looking materials in shades of brown and green.

Barbara Brennan plays the fairy Goody and she is reminiscent of the old-style children's entertainers and very good in her role, engaging the children with her magic and spells . . . which are always followed by resounding farts . . .

and seems to be the part most enjoyed by the children.

The play is quite funny at times, and the over-the-top Ogress played by Mal White (who also plays the king) provides a lot of humour, even when she is demanding to be fed live babies. The Ogre on the other hand (Karl Shiels) is not so audience-friendly. Tall and with massive American football shoulders, dressed in fur and rags, his dreadlocks hide his face and his voice is distorted through a microphone, which seems to cause the most terror. He kills a (fake) pet rat and when he comes down from the stage into the audience to look for the fairy, quite a few of the younger children fling themselves into their parents' arms, with the youngest even crying.

The themes are quite gruesome for younger children with the ogress trying to eat Sleeping Beauty for dinner, and the set is dark and eerie, with little light that I can't imagine would delight children.

One imaginative element of the play that works extremely well are the thorns protecting Sleeping Beauty. These are acted out by the ensemble cast and they hiss and poke and swallow anyone who dares come near.

Still, this version is very entertaining and it is great to see an alternative offering in the pantomime season, but parents should probably pay heed to the children over-six rule.

The Lyons Tea Panto: Sleeping Beauty Liberty Hall The Lyons Panto: Sleeping Beauty in Liberty Hall meanwhile is panto at its best and their version could not be more different than that running in the Helix. It's full of brightlycoloured lights, smoke, explosive sounds and completely modern music, which included Gwen Stefani's 'Whatcha Waiting For', Madonna's 'Hung Up' and The Scissor Sisters' 'I Don't Feel Like Dancing'. The King and Queen are based on David and Victoria Beckham so already you can tell it's a much different affair.

The Lyons Tea Panto has a reputation for being the best in town and I surprised myself by how much I enjoyed it.

Scriptwriter and co-producer Karl Broderick has to get full credit for making this production as entertaining for adults as it is for children and you can't say that about many pantomimes.

Former Miss Ireland Aoife Cogan plays Queen Victoria of Beckinham, but the character is stiff and affected, so it's hard to judge her acting ability. But she seems to enjoy the role as she announces periodically, "I need to go get skinny".

The runaway star of the show is Buffy Poppins (Mary's estranged sister), a transvestite nanny played to great comic effect by Joe Conlan who can walk and do the Copacabana better in stilettos than any woman I know. He gets the best lines, the biggest laughs and the loudest cheers at the end.

There is audience interaction right from the start, with TV3's Alan Hughes throwing sweets to the delight of all the children.

Hughes acts more like a narrator in his role as Sammy Sausages and keeps everything moving along smoothly.

Hazel O'Connor is the evil queen Nastina and she seems to revel in the role, stomping around the stage in black plastic outfits and singing 'Killer Queen'.

Her two minions, Jealousy (Kevin Hynes) and Envy (Gavin Quigley) also provide much of the comedy for the show.

It closes in a hail of good feeling with Buffy getting a few mortified fathers up to the stage to dance before the entire audience is ordered to join in.

The songs, the jokes and the references to youth popular culture make the Lyons Tea Panto the hippest in town.

What's on

Sleeping Beauty . . . A Wicked Fairytale The Helix until 7 January. Tickets 12- 25;

01 700 7000 The Lyons Tea Panto: Sleeping Beauty with Hazel O'Connor at Liberty Hall until 26 January. Tickets: 27.50/ 25.50 01 872 1122 Mother Goose The Gaiety Theatre until 4 February.

Tickets 16.50- 32; 01 677 1717 Jack and The Beanstalk An Grianan Productions, running at the Civic Theatre, The Square, Tallaght until 7 January. Tickets: 9 to 13 Family of Four 39 (two adults and two children/one adult and three children) 01 462 7477 Aladdin running at the Axis Ballymun Arts Centre through to 21 January. Tickets 6-10 01 883 2100 Beauty and the Beast Draiocht, Blanchardstown from 6-14 January. Tickets: 15- 20 01 885 2622 Cinders The Pantomime with June Rodgers, Olympia Theatre until 7 January. Tickets: 10.00 - 29.95 0818 719 330/01 4569569 Pinocchio at the Pavilion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire until 14 January. Tickets: 18 adults/ 14 concessions/ 12 children/ 49 family ticket (four people including one adult and one child) 01 231 2929