Cinderella

Cinderella ... a pantomime staged by St Ambrose Players at St Ambrose Halls for All, Moss Lane, Leyland on Thursday 12th December 2024.

The ‘Cinderella’ story is the quintessential ‘rags to riches’ folk tale; a favourite of many children and a personal favourite of mine! I’ve spent the best part of forty years being involved in the production and staging of pantomimes and the last thirty-one years playing pantomime dames - ‘Oh No you haven’t, Oh Yes I have’, so I think I can honestly say that ‘pantomime’ has become part of my life!  The evening, I attended St. Ambrose to see their panto was a cold, damp, dreary Thursday but all that changed as soon as those curtains parted! This classic tale tells the story of a young girl, Cinderella, whose father remarries after the death of her mother.  ‘Cinders’ find herself at the mercy of her stepmother and her much scheming step-sisters, but she never gives up hope! She meets an old lady in the woods and a dashing young man and her fortunes begin to change!

Production Team ...  given the responsibility of bringing this pantomime to stage was Steven Barnes (Director), Paul Regan & Mac McCormack (Assistant Directors), Judith Oakes (Musical Director) and Megan Torkington & Jaime-Lee Holmes (Choreographers). I think I’m right in suggesting that this was a slight change for St Ambrose ... from pantomimes written by David White, a St Ambrose stalwart, to a pantomime script obtained from NODA Ltd, they say a change is as good as a rest and there was a good feel about the script and I’d suggest interpreted well by the production team. The music accompaniment provided by Judith Oakes and her three-piece band was good and supported all the singers very well.  Choreography was simple yet imaginative and played to the strengths of all the dancers. Good job you three.

The Cast...  looked happy and well-rehearsed and as soon as those curtains parted, gave us everything that they had.  It was a strong cast, with plenty of experience in its principal ranks that supported a small adult chorus and a set of youngsters who provided a loveable children’s chorus, who sang and danced and supported the principals ever so well and should be applauded on their effort throughout. We had some notable performances and for me a ‘show stealing’ performance which I will come to a little later and which could have gone one of four ways, but can I first of all just list all the cast members starting with our principals ... playing the ever so important lead role of ‘Cinderella’ we had the talented Jennie Barnes; Nicola Preston played ‘Prince Charming’, Adam G Smith took on the role of ‘Buttons’; Libbie Cowburn gave us a very funny Scouse ‘Dandini’; Jenny Harbottle took on the role of the ‘Fairy Godmother’. Alison Griffiths-Barnes made the role of the evil and nasty ‘Baroness’ hers; Will Perrin played ‘Baron Hardup’; Kieran Smith and Jonny Holmes took on the role of ‘The Uglies’, ‘Mona Hardup’ and ‘Grizelda Hardup’ respectively and Teague Robertson played ‘Chamberlain’. We had a small ‘adult chorus’ made up of Adam Cruickshank, Tony Stevens, Chloe Swinglehurst and Vikki Watson and a bright and enthusiastic ‘Children’s Chorus’ that included Eva Atkinson, Finlay Bache, Alice Crewe, Olivia Mellin, Aiden Martin, Ava Reynolds, Harper Reynolds, Sophie Reynolds and Jayden West ... all of whom looked like they were having the time of their young lives.  So, it’s ‘Show Stealer’ time!  As you know, I’m never one to sit on the fence, so can I go ‘straight in’ and identify my ‘show stealer’ ... which, if I’m honest, wasn’t the easiest of decisions, in fact it was such a close call between four of our principals ... Jennie Barnes as Cinderella, Libby Cowburn as Dandini, Alison Griffiths-Barnes as the Baroness, and Jenny Harbottle as our ‘Fairy Godmother’ ... but in the  end I plumped for the very evil, the very nasty pasty that was Alison Griffith-Barnes and her portrayal of the very evil ‘Baroness’.  OMG was there ever a more ‘evil/nasty’ Baroness!  Alison embodied everything that you would want from this character, not for a minute did she let her character slip... confident, energy driven, great characterisation, mannerisms, facial expressions and a wonderful stage presence... I think the boos and hisses whenever she appeared could have been heard in Chorley!  How to make an impression and how to make a role your own... be proud Alison, great job.  Jennie Barnes showed us all the qualities required to portray a wonderfully beautiful Cinderella.  Jennie is another blessed with stage presence aplenty and an ability to create wonderful characters. Blessed with a great singing voice and wonderful diction, she really did make this character her own as did Libby Cowburn and Jenny Harbottle with their characters. Libby gave us this wonderful ‘Scouse’ Dandini which I loved, very funny throughout, another blessed with great stage presence and the ability to create a great character and to make people laugh, be proud Libby, great job. Jenny gave us a very tasteful Fairy Godmother... loved her rendition of ‘It’s a Kind of Magic’, another, blessed with wonderful stage presence, be ever so proud you four great jobs!  But, having said all that, what I did find very strange, was how quiet the audience was throughout and one of the reasons for that may have been the lack of comedy interaction between the ‘Uglies’ and the ‘audience’!  This isn’t the film version of Cinderella where we see the ‘Uglies’ being really nasty toward Cinderella, this is a ‘family pantomime’ where the ‘Uglies’ should purely be about comedy and interaction with the audience, not being nasty ... the nastiness was being totally covered by Alison!  I hope I don’t offend here, that was never my intention ... this really is me just thinking out loud and offering a little constructive advice for the future!

Staging/Set/Tech ... as always here at St Ambrose an ‘in house’ set which worked a treat throughout, affording everything needed to allow the panto to flow.  Graham Forrest (Stage Manager) and his amazing team of wizards ... Paul Gregson, Martin Dempsey and Gordon Manley (Stage Crew / Set Painting) did another fabulous job with the set (PS ... loved Cinderella’s Coach).  Lighting was great and effective / Sound did have its moments, but nothing that disrupted the flow of the production ... under the watchful eye of Stephen Porter and Kerry Chippendale.

Band ... led by Judith Oakes (Musical Director) included Linda Scott, Alan Green and Teague Roberston in support... great job, supported singers ever so well.

Wardrobe ... what a great set of costumes which enhanced the production ever so much under the watchful eye of Sam and Megan Torkington, Debbie Sheehan, the Production Team and the cast with ‘alterations’ being carried out by Tina Smith.
Props ... were excellent and used wonderfully well, again adding to the production ... under the control of Beth Wharton.

Chaperones/Matrons ... whenever young people are involved in a production... the need for ‘chaperones/matrons’ is vital, so I never miss an opportunity to thank/praise these selfless people, who give up of their time to support and keep safe our amazing young people... and here at St Ambrose I would suggest is just the same. Not named in the programme.... but thank you so much!

Congratulations to everyone involved in bringing this pantomime to stage.  Thank you so much for inviting my wife and I, hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and hope to see you all again in the New Year.

Stay Safe, Keep well
‘Stronger Together’

Jim Briscoe
District 6 Rep
NODA North West

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