Cinderella

I am always pleased to be asked to review a production of Cinderella - without a doubt it remains the best loved of all pantomimes and is such an ideal introduction to theatre for young children.

Melissa Morse as the Fairy Godmother introduced the show, giving it a magical sparkly beginning as we all settled into our seats for an anticipated enjoyable afternoon. Victoria Farrar and Katie Betts portrayed the roles of Cinderella and Prince Charming respectively with Christy-Ann Wilson providing good support as Dandini. All three interacted well but needed more volume and greater clarity of diction to their singing. Having said that I saw the first performance and maybe there was some nervousness in play. There were nicely rounded performances by June Johnson and Debbie Tasker as Snitch and Snatch the bungling broker's men and there was great acting throughout by Shaun Johnson and Tom York as the formidable ugly sisters Beryl and Cheryl - full marks to them! Good support came from Amy-Su Armitage as a very edgy Lady Devilla Hardup and James Reynolds as a bemused and fuddled Baron Hardup. I very much enjoyed the performance of Christopher Gent as Buttons - he had good stage presence, created an immediate rapport with the audience and his timing was good too.

The chorus, both junior and senior completed the line-up and presented a nice uniformity on stage and had clearly been well-rehearsed. 

An excellent effort was made with the set considering the space and facilities available. The back stage crew managed the scene changes slickly - well done! The support of good lighting and bright costumes added greatly to the ambience of the show as did  the accompaniment of the two-piece band. I much prefer live music in the theatre.

For me the show did lack a little pace at times but as already said I saw the first performance and know it can take a little time to adjust to audience reactions. Overall it was a very pleasant afternoon's entertainment - well done on all your hard work and thanks to all concerned.

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