Cinderella

It's always a test when I attend a Whitkirk Arts Guild production, to figure out what they achieve in a seemingly ordinary hall, making their shows so professional and different. 'Cinderella' was no exception! Making her directorial debut, Kirsten Moore produced a first-class pantomime, much to the delight of a packed audience that included Brownies and Silver Liners - and there was enough in this panto to please both factions!

Once again, a perfectly chosen cast presented a traditional panto with a modern twist - The lynch-pin of the piece was Buttons, played by a confident Matthew Jackson, who immediately engaged with the audience and soon had us all shouting back at his every entrance! Strong performances were maintained throughout by the Prince (Louise Norbury-Robinson), Dandini (Laura Wilkinson), Cinderella (Rebecca Nelson) and we can't ignore the Ugly Sisters (Keith Speight and Matthew Jameson) - their 'Make-up' routine was hilarious! Other principals, Shrapnel (Charlott Hodge), Nugget (Helen Thomson), Baron (Josh White) and also Fairy Godmother (Chris Burdis-Green) as a very off-beat character, all gave excellent support and the chorus added an extra touch in the ensemble numbers. There was a real teamwork on show here, from backstage departments; sets were in the form of projections and at times, were rather faint, but this did not spoil the overall effect. The MD, Louise Norbury-Robinson  had chosen the music for the show well and musical numbers were sung very well - Kirsten Moore also choreographed the production, assisted by Helen Thomson as repetiteur - a lot of hard work and thought had gone into the entire production. I attended on first night but it was as confident a production as I'm sure it was on the last night - everyone worked with my favourite two 'E's' - energy and enthusiasm!

I was very impressed to be told that the author of the pantomime, Matthew Maisey, had tweeted the group to wish them well with the production - what a lovely gesture! He would have been proud of the interpretation of his 'Cinderella'!

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