Rapunzel at The Riverfront – a review of Newport’s annual panto

Thank you to The Riverfront for inviting us to review Rapunzel

Newport’s Riverfront celebrates 20 years of panto magic with Rapunzel, and it’s a brilliantly fun, lively and enjoyable production, perfect for the whole family. 

After having a great time at least year’s Dick Whittington, we were delighted to be invited to watch Rapunzel, where we booed and hissed at the evil queen, shouted lots of ‘he’s behind you’ and ‘oh no it isn’t’s, had an audience singalong, and clapped along to a fantastic soundtrack of pop songs with subtle tweaks to the lyrics to fit the show.

Rapunzel may be an age-old story, but this panto version had plenty of pop culture references (yes, there’s a 6-7 moment and a TikTok dance which your kids will likely know, even if you don’t) and so many jokes that had us simultaneously laughing and groaning. My teens and tween loved it, with all five of us laughing out loud for two hours. 

It was great to see some of the cast from last year’s show back on stage. Richard Elis (the Cat in Dick Whittington, best known as Huw from EastEnders) as Muddle is so warm and likeable, with some fun magic tricks and plenty of jokes (which my husband is already re-telling to anyone who’ll listen… he loves a cheesy joke). 

Gareth Tempest is back for his fourth year as panto dame, this year as Winnie Wiggins. He’s such a great performer, completely over the top with perfect delivery of the more humorous moments, not to mention some outrageous costumes. I especially liked his Dolly Parton moment and one scene with a brilliant on-stage costume transformation.

Stevie Mcavoy is the evil Ceridwen, casting her spells over Rapunzel, not to mention the whole of Newport, on the eve of her 21^st birthday, in the hope of becoming Queen, with just the right amount of menace not to scare the younger audience members.

Ryan Owen is our panto hero Hector, the woodcutter who wants to rescue Rapunzel (Mia Turley) from her tower, deep in the Welsh forest, while Elin Phillips plays Ceridwen’s sidekick Gruff, and Mandifadza Mupita is Tylwyth Teg, a woodland fairy who helps narrate the story.

They are accompanied by a great ensemble of energetic dancers, including several local young performers – I always love seeing young people being given the chance to shine on stage and this group add a lot of energy and smiles.

The stage is filled with so much colour, with bright costumes, bold sets and lighting that helps set the mood.

The Riverfront is such a lovely venue for theatre shows. The auditorium holds around 500, meaning everyone gets a great view and it has a personal feel to it – although perhaps the audience members who found themselves part of the show might disagree! The cast also made great use of the auditorium and stage-side balconies, taking the action away from the main stage.

Located just a few minutes from Newport’s Winter Wonderland you can combine Rapunzel with ice skating or a few rides, or head to Friars Walk for a meal at any of the family-friendly restaurants, making for a lovely festive day out.

We parked at the Kingsway multistorey and were pleased to be able to take advantage of free festive parking at various car parks in Newport on Saturdays until 27 December.

Rapunzel is at The Riverfront, Newport until Sunday 4 January 2026.

Tickets are still available. Tickets for standard shows cost £30.75 for adults and £28.75 for children and concessions, with a discount for a group of four at £109. Premium shows are £31.75 for adults, £29.75 for children and concessions and £113 for a group of four.

Book online here.

Christmas Cracker performances take place on Friday 5 December at 7pm and Friday 2 January at 1.30pm and 5.30pm, with all tickets priced at £18 (with no further discounts available).

See website for details of British Sign Language, Audio Described, Captioned, and Relaxed performances.

Tickets for next year’s panto, Cinderella, are also now on sale.