Cinderella

 

MKAOS pantomime was one of the last things I saw before Covid and is one of the first since restrictions were “lifted”

They have lost nothing during their enforced lay-off, taking full advantage of the Venue. As soon as you enter the auditorium you can feel the atmosphere and buzz of anticipation.

Tanya Horwood as Cinderella and Emma Belam as Prince Charming were great as the young couple that we were all rooting for. Ably assisted by the other principals and chorus, with some terrific twists, on what I was expecting. The “Ugly Sisters” were not played by two burley men. In a refreshing change the sisters were played by two ladies, Alys Brown as Quarantina and Amy Hansford as Sanitizia. Whilst they maintained the evil streak, inherited from their mother, played by Vicky Amies, but they also had some great comedic moments.

The second twist was the “trainee” Fairy Godmother. Not played by a sweet Truly Scrumptious but by John Dowell. John as the Fairy Phizer was born to be a panto dame. He clearly revels in the part and wins over the audience.

Hats off to John and Amy for managing their dual directing and acting responsibilities.

There were a couple of glitches with the microphones, but these things happen, and it didn’t detract from the overall spectacle. Great colour, music and movement.

As you would expect the finale left everyone smiling and on a high as they made their way home, but the audience reaction to the end of act one was a whole other level. As Cinderella’s horse and carriage started to rock, then rise, then turn, ready to fly over the auditorium, The little girl in front of me was jumping up and down screaming “it’s flying, it’s flying”.

Thank you MKAOS.  

 

 

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