Cinderella

This version of the classic tale by Director Kerwin Robertson was one with a twist – Cinderella did not have two Ugly Stepsisters to contend with but three (poor girl)! His script was full of the usual favourite panto jokes and plenty of local references to keep the full house audience fully engaged from the chorus’s opening rendition of “Come Alive” to the rousing closing ABBA medley by the whole company. In the title role of Cinderella Sara Stewart was excellent with a good stage presence and a good strong singing voice shown to its best in her rendition of “Somebody to Love”. Stephanie Wild made a striking Prince Charming and made a believable pairing with Cinderella – their duet “Nothing ‘s Going To Stop Us Now” was a delight. Carla Barber’s Dandini was a good strong character perfectly capable of repelling the attentions of the Ugly Sisters – their rendition of “You’re The One That I Want” was hilarious. And now to the Ugly Sisters – Beryl (Grahame Whyte), Cheryl (Colin Jones) and Meryl (Graeme Mackay) – these were arguably among the best Dames it has been my pleasure to see. They worked extremely well together with none of them outshining the others. The routine to “Man I Feel Like A Woman” had us all in stitches! Another strong character was young Elliot Bell as Buttons – he had the audience sympathy from the start as he tried to tell Cinders of his love for her and their duet “Hard Knock Life” was perfect. Elizabeth Sinclair made an impressive Fairy Godmother in her shimmering red gown and with a superb singing voice. Stuart McMain and Richard Stables brought their considerable comic talents to the broker’s men Snitch and Snatch respectively and strongly led the audience through the “Time Warp” community song. Hilary Esson deserved every boo she received as Cinder’s bullying stepmother Lady Devilla Hardup and Alex Busch had our full sympathy as her put upon husband Baron Hardup. Strong support was given by Nina McKay as the cute Culter Comet, the Baron’s Horse, Isa Busch as the Major Domo and The Fairy Floozies (Zoe Meldrum, Ashley Mildon and Paula Milne) who added their excellent vocal talents as backing singers in many of the musical numbers. The young chorus members all sang and moved well and their enthusiasm and joy shone through. The five piece band under Lindsey Masson’s leadership played the many styles of music expertly always supporting but never overpowering the singers. The costumes were colourful and appropriate to the characters and those of the Uglies were just the right side of outrageous (as they should be). The set was kept simple to suit the small size of the stage and the transformation scene was beautifully handled. Well done everyone at Culter Theatre Club for once again bringing us a touch of panto warmth and magic on a cold December evening.

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