Cinderella

After a difficult journey in thick fog and heavy rain along a very twisty coast road, the lovely  warm reception on arrival was very much appreciated – oh yes it was! 

For their pantomime in this their 40th year the Society presented that traditional all-time  favourite “Cinderella”, which was their very first production when they started out in 1985. As is usual with this writer this was a super script with great characters, a strong storyline and  the action flowed smoothly from scene to scene. 

This well-known tale simply exploded onto the stage in rip-roaring style from the word go, full  of colourful costumes, and backdrops, excellent performances, and plenty of audience  participation. 

The Fairy Godmother’s entrance was marked by an impressive pyro and the principals were  introduced from behind the gauze. An excellent opening number followed against a lovely village backdrop, as the large chorus, a good mix of adults and youngsters, took to the stage,  their energy and enthusiasm immediately spilling out into the auditorium. Of course, Buttons got the audience on side straight away by his antics with “Bob the Bunny”  and admitting “confidentially” that he was in love with Cinderella. This was a warm and  endearing performance from an experienced player , with good dance moves and a great solo. 

Cinders was graceful and attractive, with a lovely singing voice she interacted well with  everyone, the duet with the Prince was beautifully sung and they made a believable couple.  The Prince himself was suitably “charming” and well supported by at times a somewhat  sceptical Dandini, who at one point fell foul hilariously to the attentions of the Uglies.  Poor Baron Hardup was literally overshadowed by his new Baroness, clearly resigned to the  fact that she was very much “in charge”, both roles were well played. 

The Ugly Sisters made a great first entrance through the auditorium and onto the stage,  “interacting” with the audience on their way! With matching costumes, spectacular boots, “over  the top” make-up, they certainly looked the part and worked well together, always very much  “blokes in frocks”!

The experience of the “desperate duo”, in the shape of Bodget and Legett the Broker’s Men,  was clear as they took to the stage and confidently performed their capers, the “business”  warmly received! 

Act I had the traditional “baking scene” and in this production a frenzied “12 Days of  Christmas “ routine which certainly brought the house down! 

The Fairy Godmother was simply great fun from the outset, transforming delightfully into the  Little Old Lady” in the forest, she had a powerful singing voice and great stage presence. The ending of Act I was excellent, set against a black backdrop with a magical dance routine, the dancers dressed in sparkly capes. The transformation scene was amazing as Cinders  twirled round her peasant outfit unfurled in seconds into a beautiful ballgown – the coach was  just fabulous! 

The opening of Act II took the audience to the Palace Ball, with the Chamberlain well in charge  of proceedings. The guests entered excitedly through the auditorium onto the stage to give a  terrific interpretation of “Ballroom Blitz”. The candle chandelier was most impressive and the  full moon on the back wall an atmospheric touch. When the clock struck 12 Cinders made a  speedy exit and a clever “riches to rags” sequence was displayed by back projection. The way home through the forest gave great opportunity for an excellently performed “Job  Song”, with a variety of props, and the “haunted” boudoir scene with the giant spider was well  received. 

Of course, everything ended happily ever after, despite the best efforts of the Uglies to put a  spanner in the works! 

Cinders got her Prince, and the whole cast joined together on stage for several rousing finale  numbers! 

The multitude of attractive costumes were well-chosen, and co-ordinated with some clever  extra touches like the dashes of tartan. 

The sets and cloths were particularly eye catching and very well painted, the picket fence US  stood out, and the young lady on the front cloth should be highly commended for her speed of  foot! 

The lighting and sound were top notch and the two musicians placed to the right of the  auditorium did sterling work with the accompaniment. 

A tremendous amount of team work both on stage and behind the scenes made for an  excellent and thoroughly enjoyable production – well done!

Any observation made by the reviewer can only be based on what they see at the  performance in question. The reviewer may have received information in advance of  the performance, and it is inevitable that their assessment will be affected by that  knowledge. 

The N.O.D.A. Representative’s intention is to give an objective critique of the overall  production and in particular the performance viewed. It should be remembered that  any review of this nature can only be objective as far as the techniques used during  

the performance observed. Any criticisms expressed may not have been valid at other  performances and are only made to encourage higher standards in Amateur Theatre. 

It is hoped that the audience’s appreciation of your efforts will have given everyone a  lift and encouraged you to greater achievements in the future and that the observations  made by the reviewer will prove helpful in improving future productions. 

 

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