Cinderella

Ah, the first panto of the season and it was with the fabulous Stone Revellers at the beautiful Crown Wharf Theatre for the Saturday matinee. Cinderella is a classic and there was a full house (or if not quite then very, very nearly!) to see a seasonal favourite.

But there was a twist! The classic had been retold by the Revellers themselves, a new version of a well told tale that brought in some more modern elements, a few different characters whilst aiming to keep all of the fun of the original. In true panto style, there were some great double entendres that landed brilliantly albeit differently amongst both the kids and the adults (the Prince’s balls come to mind, wink wink!) but there were some instances where maybe slowing or emphasising the delivery may have allowed some of the slightly more subtle jokes to land better. The matinee audience needed a little warming up so “hamming” up some of the early jokes may have helped.

The musical direction was tight and the band very good across the production weaving some absolute classics with some more contemporary tunes (and a couple that an oldie like me didn’t recognise at all, lol!)

The set was cleverly done including turning panels within the flats to easily change between settings. Costume was good throughout with some particularly clever parts such as Cinderella’s dress change when preparing for the ball

We were treated to some puppeteering too with Scratch and Sniff being ably brought to life with very nicely done puppets that were well handled (the actors may have been better in all black throughout though).

It was obvious that a lot of work and rehearsal had gone into this show and everyone looked to be having a great time. We had equal opportunities proudly incorporating not only the traditional fairy godmother (Sean Galloghly) but also a fairy godfather (Emma Wilson). Sean was donning the frock and falsies for the 2nd year in a row and Emma may wish to use the show reel as an audition for Eastenders, such was the mastery of the low menacing voice! Our Cinderella was well portrayed by Ellie Littlewood who eventually bagged her Prince (Charlotte Davies). These two had lovely vocals and as mentioned, Charlotte delivered the “balls” jokes well which the audience appreciated. The step-mother was Mandy Gauge who plotted and schemed her way through the show in cahoots with Marg & Rita (Hannah Adams & Claire Saunders), the characters not being played by dames as is often the case. Pretty sure every man in the audience now thinks that the reason us girls moan about no pockets in anything is because we want to half inch the Prince’s silverware!! The household also contained Cinderella’s only friends, Scratch & Sniff (Jonathon Shermer & Maddie Hall), the actors bringing the puppets to life well.

Another schemer was the Queen (Jacqueline Abrahams), desperate to hang on to her position, assisted (albeit not ably!) by HRMPA and HRMPAPA (sound it out, you’ll get the joke!) played by Rachel Jenkinson-Shermer and Bethan Stapleton. The royal family was completed by Tory, Maurie & Dory (Sam Melia, Eula O’Leary & Immy Patrick), the former with one of the standout jokes “Whoever heard of a Tory misbehaving at a party?!” (apologies for the slight misquote!)

The principal cast was supported by the rest of the company in many scenes featuring some new and returning faces. Well done to you all, the ensemble is a key part of such a production.

The Stone Revellers are known for some different choices and are to be applauded for the bravery in tackling a British institution like panto. I think the audience may have preferred some of the more traditional panto elements being included but theatre never progressed without new thinking and boundary pushing and that is always to be applauded. As always, thank you for the invitation and I look forward to your 2026 programme.

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