Cinderella

At a time when certain of its members seem to find life within a certain royal family to be rather less than it had been cracked up to be it is reassuring to find that at least in pantoland competition for the hand of the prince is just as great as ever.  Although this was a fairly (or even fairy) traditional telling of the familiar story, there were certain innovations. The step-mother, for instance, was rather more wicked than usual in that she had apparently disposed of her husband over a cliff and had then turned his castle into a tourist attraction.

The action began with Brandon Hancock as Buttons working as a guide showing visitors such as ourselves around the place, introducing us to his great friend Cinderella and sharing with us his secret love for her. Helena Tarren made an appropriately villainous job of her part as his employer Rubella and there were also impressive performances from Shaun Doyle and John Hounsley as her daughters, Sam and Ella (say their names quickly and you have another problem to be avoided, get it?).  Theirs was an excellent partnership; the former, whilst in only his third pantomime, is already an expert at working an audience with his cheeky smile and a quick wit and the latter, a newcomer to this group, is clearly an experienced performer in this and other types of role.  Alex Wallis, another newcomer here yet no stranger to the stage, gave a good performance as the Prince, a well-spoken type with all the charm one could want.  Lesser mortals might have abandoned the search for the girl who left the ball at midnight when, in another unusual twist to the familiar tale, an initial visit to her home yielded no favourable result.  Cinderella had been imprisoned in the cellar at the time but the ever- reliable Buttons eventually alerted him to this and, after an experience with a not altogether unfriendly bear in a forest, all was well.

Harmony Stevens, making her panto debut, gave a confident performance in the title role, quickly arousing our sympathy for her plight, whilst still maintaining a pleasant smile despite all life threw at her. The usual pair of bungling assistants at the palace (Bubble and Squeak) were played by Abbie Goodwin and Joanne Johnson, both veterans with this society, despite, in the former case at least, still being of fairly tender years. (The other celebrated a birthday on the night I was there). They amused us with their flow of jokes, although their skills at decorating a wall at the palace would not satisfy even the least demanding of interior designers. Taylor Campbell supported the Prince as a youthful Dandini and, topping and tailing the whole evening was another newcomer to the group, Alice Luke as a Fairy Godmother with something of a twinkle in her eye (and her wand) and an accent from somewhere near the southern end of the A1.  Finally, Cinderella’s long-lost father makes a welcome return, his swimming skills having saved him following his fall from the cliff, Michael Spurgeon taking time off from his duties as Stage Manager to make an impressively costumed appearance.

For the first time in many years, use was made of a 4-piece band and I do feel that this was a worthwhile move, not only as support for the vocals. Although scene changes were slickly done, somehow the ability to hear and to see a live band seemed to allow things to move along more efficiently than would have been the case with recorded music.  Ryan Stocks had written and produced the show but, not content with this, provided great support as the drummer in the band. A man of many talents, indeed!       

Finally, as the Mayor of Ripon was also in attendance, we experienced the visit of the city’s first female Ripon hornblower to assure him that “the watch is set”, a tradition which goes back to the days of Alfred the Great.  Royalty which also had its problems - if only with cakes.        

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