Oxford Playhouse has received the award for Achievement in Innovation at this year’s Pantomime Awards for its production of Sleeping Beauty.

The Special Recognition Award was presented to The Playhouse on Sunday 13 April at New Victoria Theatre, Woking, in a ceremony hosted by Elaine C Smith, La Voix and Dave Benson Phillips.

The award celebrated the regional venue’s fresh take on the classic story of Sleeping Beauty, with its time travelling narrative and 1980s-inspired characters and design. The production shifted the original narrative of the fairytale, focusing on its strong female characters, a Princess who would rather she wasn’t one, and removing the traditional ‘true love’s kiss’ plot point.

The Chair of the Pantomime Association, Simon Sladen, described The Playhouse as “an extremely creative venue that never ceases to present fresh and exciting re-appraisals of familiar fairytale narratives.”

Presenting the award, he said: “Their innovative use of plot and character to push the genre forward into the 21st Century is a lesson in what can be achieved through creative collaboration.”

The Playhouse was visited by a selection of judges from the Pantomime Association over the festive season, before the UKPA Trustees decided the winners to receive this new and prestigious award.

The award-winning in-house team will return this year with a fresh new take on Dick Whittington, playing at Oxford Playhouse from Friday 21 November 2025 to Sunday 4 January 2026.