ONCE upon a time, Sleeping Beauty and her friends visited Oxfordshire to put on a special show for some of the county’s sick and injured children.

Patients and families at the Oxford Children’s Hospital were yesterday treated to a performance of the pantomime Sleeping Beauty.

And they even got the chance to meet the stars of the show.

Enjoying the panto was three-year-old Alexander Sharp with his mum Miranda.

Alexander, from Amersham, has been in and out of the hospital for cancer treatment for six months, but his mum said he was being very brave.

She said: “Alexander is only three so he is really excited about the show. We took him to one when he was just a baby, but I think he will remember more of this one.

“I am not sure what he will think of all the music and actors, to be honest, but I know I will love it.”

The show was put on by the charity Starlight, which aims to bring “a little festive sparkle” to children in hospitals and hospices.

They are currently on a pantomime tour around 80 hospitals in the run-up to Christmas.

Also enjoying the show was 12-year-old Archie Morgan, from Milton Keynes, who was in hospital recovering from operations to his stomach.

His mother Kiri said: “Archie has recently had three operations, but today is a very good day – it’s the first time he’s sat up in three weeks. He absolutely loves pantomimes.

“Starlight also paid for the whole family to go skiing in Austria last year. Archie skied down a slope with an instructor and absolutely loved it, he was waving his arms round and having a great time.”

And three-year-old Freya Fisher, from Gloucester, even managed to try on a tiara after meeting the cast.

Dad Adrian said: “This is the first time Freya has been out of her room in a week, so I’m so happy to see her enjoying herself.

“She is here for sleep studies because she suffers a lot with night terrors, but it’s been fantastic to see her smiling today.”

The actors also performed for families at the Helen and Douglas House hospice yesterday afternoon.

Duke Christopher, from The Panto Company, was playing the King in the performance and said the cast loved the tours and meeting the youngsters.

He said: “This is our second week of doing two shows a day, across the country.

“It has been fantastic. It’s really great getting to meet some truly inspirational children and making them smile.

“To be honest, we enjoy it just as much as the kids.”

  • To refer a brave child or to make a donation to Starlight, see starlight.org.uk or call 0207 262 2881. For every £1 you donate, 88p goes towards helping Starlight’s ill children.