Cinderella

NODA award winning Pantomime society Newton Amateur Dramatic & Operatic Society (NADOS) are back on the stage this week with their 2022 Pantomime, Cinderella (Oh yes, they are)! Taking the helm as Director once again is matriarch Vicky Dilworth who has pulled together another wonderfully entertaining production for sell out audiences. Wish a smaller adult cast than normal (damn you COVID) it was time for some of the junior cast to step up to take on leading roles – which didn’t seem like much of a leap to me. It is clear that the future looks very bright for this society if this is the standard of talent of the youth of NADOS. This version of Cinderella (by Ben Crocker) is anything but of a traditional tale. This pantomime is brought very much into the 21st Century with pop songs and choreography and jokes that make it relevant. Let’s get the negatives out of the way from the offset. Without going into too much detail, the sound quality of the mics was poor throughout, with some mics not working at all, especially in the first Act. The sound cues and lighting cues were not as slick as they could’ve been and the show itself (in my opinion) is far too long at nearly 3 hours. Saying that – it certainly is value for money. Everything else was brilliant and what we have become to expect from this society. The cast were superb in their roles, the costumes were excellent, and the jokes just kept coming, and coming, and coming! The only directorial note I would give is with the overall pace – perhaps cut out a few scenes that don’t aid the plot?

Visually, this production was effective. The set was great and used very well. I loved the use of the cloths/curtains as well as the projection on the front cyclorama. The lighting design was actually very good, and I loved the use of colours and effects etc. It was just the way in which the lights were turned on and off mid scene etc which was distracting from the action. The costumes in particular were exemplary. A huge well done to both Gary Williams and The Boyz Costume Hire for the fantastic costumes – some of the best that I’ve seen for this production!

The musical director for this production was Beth Dilworth. Beth has introduced some lovely harmonies into songs and the different voices from the ensemble cast were great to hear. Just to note that when some of the ensemble cast are in the aisle’s singing, some of them didn’t open their mouths/sang loud enough.

The choreography was great too and it was clear that a lot of thought had gone into the varying styles for each track. I appreciate how hard it can be to try and choreograph for a large ensemble cast, with an array of standard of talent – but choreographer Lisa Griffiths didn’t shy away from this. Some of the choreography was actually quite intricate and the cast were very well drilled!

One of my favourite roles in a Panto is the role of the baddie. Leanne Barnes was well cast as Lady Devilia Hardup. I personally would’ve loved ‘more evil’, however, I loved Leanne’s performance so much that I actually didn’t care! What really came across was that Leanne looked SO happy to be onstage and this shone through in her performance!

Emily Madden looked brilliant as Fairy Godmother. The costume was fab! Emma delivered her lines very well and it was SO cute to see the kids in the audience waving their wands and joining in with Emma!

Matthew Swann was thoroughly entertaining as Baron Boris Hardup – a hard part to play actually. Matthew did very well to showcase the bumbling idiot side of his character as well as win the audience over. His rapport with Lady Hardup was brilliant!

Elle Woods (what a name) as Snitch worked very well with her comedy sidekick Scarlett Harrison (Snatch). Both were in role throughout and are certainly ones to watch out for in the future!

Harry Thompson was suitably camp as Prince Charming’s ‘Friend’ Dandini. Harry showcased his lovely singing and his rapport with Beryl and Cheryl was brilliant! His facial expressions alone were hilarious! Wonderful stage presence too!

Prince Charming was played by Rachel Hogg. Despite being a little too naturalistic for me, I have to say that Rachel did amazingly well to portray this character. I loved the way in which she used both her voice and physicality to portray the Prince.

Cinderella was wonderfully played by Grace fisher! Grace was very well cast in this role and was able to showcase some lovely acting and her excellent vocal talents – what a voice! I actually felt that Grace was a tad underused in this production.

One of the strongest performances for me was Neeve Dilworth’s ‘Buttons’ – Neeve worked SO hard throughout to get the audience onside and actively involved – which is no mean feat. Neeve was great in this role and worked her socks off!

Being up against a stalwart of a Dame in that of Andrew Marsh, you can see how that could be very daunting, but I was very pleasantly surprised at how good Barry Dilworth was as Beryl. Barry and Andrew worked very well together, and their rapport was brilliant to watch! Andrew’s (Cheryl’s) one liners, ad libs and audience participation was (unsurprisingly) fantastic. Barry was very funny as Beryl and had some brilliant one liners with brilliant comedy timing etc. The costumes for both Cheryl and Beryl were equally fantastic. I’m still slightly upset at being soaked midway through their first scene! (I must remember my umbrella next time)!.

I have to say that this was a very enjoyable and entertaining night at the theatre. Despite the obvious issue with sound levels and the quality of the mics a great time was had by this supportive community audience. As I mentioned above, in my opinion this pantomime was far too long with a lot of scenes built around Cheryl and Beryl (perhaps not enough on Cinderella) but I can understand why as they are so strong. I loved the added touch of the projection and video montage for the transformation which really worked a treat! It’s abundantly clear that there is a TON of mutual love and admiration between cast and audience, and it is a joy and a privilege to witness this year on year!

I thank NADOS for their excellent hospitality (the cheese and wine was outstanding – poor for my waistline) and I wish them all the very best for the year ahead, including the upcoming NODA Regional Awards!

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