Cinderella

‘Cinderella’ by Nigel Holmes

My first Wellington Pantomime as your new NODA SW district Representative but not my first visit to your pantomime performances, having been a regular audience member for several years. I was really looking forward to seeing this show with a welcome return to a more traditional pantomime story for your very talented group to tackle. It is always exciting to come along and see a society that is strong in every department and see what they have produced each year. This year was, for me, a real treat.

Right from the start it was lovely to be part of a buzzing full house with an audience showing a great cross section of the young, the ‘more mature’, families, groups and societies all out ready to enjoy the fun and what fun we had! How thoughtful to give out magical wands as we filled the house. A lovely idea. Well done to the wand making team. The first of the many lovely props we saw throughout the show.

Attention to detail is a very important thing, I really liked the first impression with the sparkly crystal slipper well lit on the proscenium arch and the smoke coming from the chimneys. I also noticed the detailing of ‘HRH’ and ‘NHRH’ on Prince Charming’s sash when it was handed over to Dandini. Clever! The overall presentation was excellent. The script gave us nearly all the required pantomime elements but would have benefitted from a little editing as it did over run.

Casting was perfect and all characters gave a totally enthusiastic approach. The script gave us all the required personnel who were very well portrayed. A sweet Cinderella, a very impressive belly flopping Baron (a great demonstration there of if you can do it – go for it!). A simply perfect Buttons, giving a confident, capable Linkman performance, handling all situations onstage with considerable flair. Prince Charming and Dandini worked very well together. But I did find that there was a bit of an imbalance from the script. I wanted to see the Uglies onstage more than they were – they were so well portrayed and the ghost gag would have been funny if they had been in it, as it was it didn’t quite work. It would have been lovely if the wicked stepmother could have been given a little more nastiness to dish out too. But these points lie entirely with the script and not the company. Occasionally placement of characters on stage was a little untidy with occasional masking and some straight lines and if you are a traditionalist, the Fairy Godmother coming too far out of her domain. But overall the direction was good. The Chorus and dancers worked tirelessly with smiling faces evident at all times and were given some really well crafted choreography allowing them to demonstrate a high level of skill. I thought the masked ball at the beginning of Act II was magnificent. The chandeliers were particularly impressive too!

Scene changes were reasonable but do remember that if you are wearing blacks that includes footwear! Lighting and sound were both spot on and gave a very professional feel to the whole production. With a first class band giving a great sound and some lovely arrangements the musicality of the show was a delightful pleasure throughout. Thank you.

The costumes and wigs were all exactly as they should be. Cinderella’s transformation dress was just perfect and received the required gasp and applause from the audience. Well done to the wardrobe team.

Overall it was a wonderful, colourful, traditional pantomime. Presented by a society that is really on form, to a very appreciative audience indeed. Teamwork both on and offstage was very evident and upon reading your programme after the show I was heartened to see so many names, advertisements and scheduled forthcoming shows from the Arts Association. Wellington is certainly lucky to have such a wealth of talent and such a faithful following. Long may it continue.

Thank you for your kind hospitality. I thoroughly enjoyed my evening.

Jane Burt

NODA SW Representative

District 8a.

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