Cinderella

Thousands of variants are known throughout the world telling the story of the young unfortunate girl nicknamed Cinderella. I recently read in a theatre news article that this narrative has been told more than any other in theatres throughout the world - either in a dramatised version, its ballet, opera, musical adaptations and of course in its pantomime form too.

Though more commonly recognised as one of the ‘Brothers Grimm’ folk tales, it’s believed that the earliest incarnation of the story dates back to 7 BC in a tale about a Grecian slave girl who marries the king of Egypt, a telling which is considered to be the earliest known rendering of the "Cinderella" story as we know it.  The still ever popular romantic fantasy continues to influence and inspire a wide variety of media to this day.

It’s quite often a wonderful ambiance at an MMTG panto as they usually consist of recognisable players from previous productions which exudes a friendly and cosy vibe and a warm glow for those of us returning each year. This presentation welcomed some new faces into their ranks with almost half of the principal line up being new members (well, they’re new faces to me at least) which is refreshing to see the progression of the society. Another significant change which cannot go unnoticed was the production team for this presentation, a frequent former Dame, Michael Daws returns to the society after a couple of years off to direct the piece along with Nickie Simms to Choreograph and Jake Convery to take heed of all things musical.  

I was informed how the process of getting this production on to the stage had been a bumpy one, many moments within the performance did appear to be under rehearsed which I can appreciate given the circumstances. The manner of some of the characterisations were questionable, although not an uncommon quality - the Baron was portrayed as a grumpy and short-tempered fellow though my concern was he was sullen to the degree he almost conveyed a villain. The same theme applies to the Fairy Godmother, portrayed with such a degree of prickly attitude throwing the entire character off balance which overwhelmed the connection she’s supposed to have with Cinders, one scene between the two was spent insulting each other for the most part, I struggle to imagine that Ron Hall would’ve written it this way.

Fleur Haywood gave good energy as Prince Charming, she relished the Principal Boy persona and paired well with Sarah Powell as Cinderella. The biggest virtue that this production offered was when these two sang together.

Our hearts melted for Sid Smith’s rendition of Buttons, he was appropriately idle and energised with the perfect opportunity to showcase his vocal skills too, which was excellent.

Michael Daws and Jean Clarke fully understand humour, there’s no denying it as they’re comics through and through. We’d be laughing out loud at their delivery of the Ugly Sisters one moment then, to my surprise, the next punchline would fall flat. I suspect this to be the result of not enough time in the rehearsal room together, whenever each were left to do bits alone they portrayed much stronger than when they needed to work as a duo.    

The adlibbed jokes were often catty humour which can be amusing in the right context but sadly they plummeted on several occasions as more often than not they were interpreted as offensive and sour humour at the expense of not only the fellow cast members but members of the audience too - young children included. I tip my hat to pantos that ride close to the knuckle with the humour, it’s part of the fun to be naughty …if it’s pitched right! By all means, have fun with your audience but insulting them (or their kids) is not a smart move.  

MMTG has produced first-rate and inspiring pantomimes over the years, with creditable accolades to reflect them, but sadly this endeavour, as a whole, did miss the mark despite some worthy performances within it.

On the flip side, I’m sure it must have been a tempting option to throw in the towel at numerous points throughout the process of this endeavour, knowing the hindrances that’ve been experienced along the way I must commend the entire cast, crew, production team and committee for managing to get a performance on its feet at all, it’s really not easy when so many hurdles are presented!

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