Cinderella

What I found particularly impressive about this striking production was the strength in depth and across the board, from the Front of House set-up and management on arrival to the rousing ‘I’m So Excited’ curtain call with the lovely little detail of the parrot figure, who had played an amusing role during the show, peeping in from the wings to play his part once more. It was indeed that attention detail, both the smaller details and the larger, which ran throughout the show and which gave such a strong foundation to everything and made it so enjoyable and engaging for the audience.

A hat-trick of some of the strength elements kicked off the show. Firstly the live band (drums, saxophone, piano and bass guitar) delivered a confident and cracking set of pre-curtain-up tunes, setting the high standard they were to maintain throughout; then the curtain-opening revealed the excellent set of painted flats which depicted Sturminster Newton town square and which stretched all the way across the very wide stage, followed by a lively and stirring opening chorus song (Beautiful Day) which impressed with the strength of the projection from everyone involved, young and older alike. The words were remarkably clear and audible given the size of the auditorium and the gentle choreography of arm-waving and moving from side to side was delightful. This was a very strong chorus indeed and clearly very well directed both in acting and choreography. They were all highly focussed, with lots of reactions and attention to what was happening on stage, with the action of the story and the main characters’ behaviour and interactions; and they interacted in character with each other. The singing and dancing in It’s Not Unusual was typical of the high standard and the hand-stand performed by one member of the Chorus on the shoulders of another was a stunning ‘wow’ moment.

Another great strength of the production was the standard of the costumes, impressive in both quality and quantity, with not just the Principals and other actors having fine outfits, but also the Chorus. Particularly spectacular among those of the latter were the newts and stick insects, transformed by Nanny Magee, the Fairy Godmother character, into estate agents, owls and finally coachmen/coachwomen. The Baroness and the two sisters sported a large array of striking outfits through the show and the costumes for the ball scene were amazing.

The various sets played a starring role in the production, with the flats forming the opulent interior of The Castle/Palace being especially impressive, and congratulations go to both the design and execution of all of them. The sheer number of flats used to span the wide stage meant that the changes from one set to another – and there were a great many of them – needed highly skilled and efficient handling. This was delivered, magnificently, and congratulations go to the stage team for achieving this feat. I understand that a special construction design was employed to help with moving the flats, which were indeed moved with great speed and smoothness. The clever use of a comic decorating routine by the Watts and Wright comedy duo to help segue the transition from the Baron’s Kitchen to the Castle/Palace was a nice touch.

Good use was made of the wide stage by the Director and Choreographer, with the performers moving around it to maximum effect. The choreography thoughtfully matched the moods of each number and made good use of the dancers’ abilities. The standard of both dancing and singing was very good across the board and I particularly enjoyed it in Let It Shine, which demonstrated very clear, very tight and very rousing singing by the company as well as great dancing. Having the live music for the show, with the band playing so well, gave a real boost to all of the numbers and added yet another level of enjoyment for the audience. The standard ‘audience singalong competitive participation’ with Sweet Caroline worked well, another rousing number.

The strong singing and dancing matched the equally strong acting. Buttons was very good both with the camp characterisation and with engaging the audience, especially when encouraging them to shout out at each appearance of Humphrey the Camel. I was particularly impressed with his skilful and brave backwards fall when trying to lead Humphrey offstage and encountering resistance from him. Grisella, Baroness Hard-up was excellent, with plenty of pantomime verve and punch, and Cedric, Baron Hard-up made just the right put-upon foil for her aspirations. Cinderella’s sisters Chantelle and Gertrude were both a brilliant double-act and delivered very strong individual performances. The panto comedy flowed freely in their scene with Cinderella about the dresses for the ball, and when they were fighting for the attention of the Prince at that ball. Gertrude had superb projection and ‘oomph’ and Chantelle delivered an outstanding, tour-de-force performance, a demonstration of top-notch panto acting with energy galore.

Cinderella was convincing, delightful and very good at interacting with the audience. The scene with Nanny Magee and the coach transformation showed great acting ability and her singing was particularly impressive, especially in ‘I wanna dance with somebody’ which was slow, gentle and moving, and received a massive applause from the audience. Nanny Magee gave an interesting and thoroughly engaging interpretation of the ‘dame’ character doubling with the ‘fairy godmother’ role; low key but, through the strength of the performance, high impact. The King and Queen were another strong double-act with some very nice repartee and Dandy-Knee was a good, and delightfully camp, Royal aide-de-camp. His rap song with the Prince was excellent. The Prince had great stage presence and confidence in acting and exuded the appropriate panto swagger for the role. The song sung with Cinderella, ‘Come What May’ was one of the highlights of the show.

The comedy duo of Ivor Watt and Stanley Wright had great energy, vocal projection and timing and delivered a series of wonderfully funny pantomime comic routines, such as the van unloading, the palace decorating and the Customs Officer’s inspection at Compton Abbas Airport. The Customs Officer herself was great in the role and the scene was very cleverly crafted and another highlight. The parrot appearing through the case on the counter was a brilliant touch; and well done to the stage hand who must have been squeezed into the counter with all that gear. The star performance of the evening was that of Humphrey the Camel, with his lovely and ingeniously wagging tail. Humphrey was very funny indeed and very skilfully operated by the actors. The Egyptian dance was brilliant, one of many great moments produced by this endearing camel who stole each scene in which he appeared. Many congratulations to the two actors.

This was a classic pantomime with all the traditional panto motifs and plenty of local-reference jokes; it was also innovative and the audience really engaged with and enjoyed it. Congratulations to the Writer (Tania White with help from Jenny Powell, Toby Greenfield and Jack English), Director (Toby Greenfield), Musical Director (Tasmin Allen), Choreographer (Sophia Olford) and to the Lighting, Stage Management, Set, Sound, Props, Wardrobe, Orchestra, Front of House and to everyone else involved, including in the design of the excellent programme (Jessica Allen). Thank you for a wonderful evening.

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