Cinderella

It’s panto time at the Dolman Theatre Newport and it was with great pleasure “and with some apprehension” that I took my front row seat, to watch Newport Pantomime Societies production of the all-time favourite “Cinderella”.

Where to start ?  The music was rousing, the setting was magical and Cinderella, played by Taryn Meyrick was nothing less than beautiful. A lovely performance, Taryn both looked and sounded every little girls dream of becoming a princess. A lovely performance from a very talented artist.

Lee Rose Walsh as Prince Charming strutted the stage in true Panto style. Great to see a traditional Principal boy of childhood memories. A beautiful duet with Taryn was a highlight in the performance.

Every Prince needs their Dandini played very well by Ffion Bassett, who like all good Aides looked amazing never put a foot wrong or lost a word. A good performance, well done.

Everyone loves the Fairy Godmother and what was not to love about Cerys Smith. Played with good humour and a little mischief, great facial expression, and lovely clarity of speech, which as a narrator, is very helpful to the audience.

“How to play the idiot”. We all had a good lesson with George Rees as Leggitt and Georgina Moorcroft as Bodgett. Never quite sure what they were up to but kept the audience laughing and that’s a positive result. Well done.

Or Baron [Gerald Needs] and Baroness [Kerry Morgan] showed their Panto experience with great characterisation and comic timing, always a pleasure to watch.

Where would we be without Buttons? Played by Nick Brimble, who showed his expertise in audience participation, an absolute must in Panto and not an easy task. The audience loved him, an accolade we all strive for.

The Sisters, played by Ryan Salter [Grizelda] and Jeff Matthews [Gertrude]. Nobody was safe from these two wonderful “Dames”, not even the Lord Mayor of Newport. Their performance as the dames was exceptional, I have never seen better. Their comedy timing and should I say adlibbing was immaculate. The audience was captivated by them and somewhat in fear of their notice [especially the Lord Mayor] I hope these statements are seen as complimentary as they were amazing.

As always it was a pleasure to share this time with you all. 

Dianne Hayes

 NODA Wales and Ireland Regional Representative District 7

 

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