Cinderella and the Two Sl**s - Adult Panto

Adult Pantos are a recent phenomenon to arrive on amateur theatre stages. Such productions take the traditional pantomime stories, retain all the characteristics and overall plot, and create adult only shows. Pantomime characters are already outrageous, and innuendo is a staple of panto. However in adult panto it appears innuendo goes completely out the window – literally nothing is off limits, and the script and cast can be as mucky as they like.   Littleport Players donned the adult panto mantle with Cinderella and the Two Sl**s and so with some trepidation as this was my first experience of an adult panto I went along.  I can’t say I wasn’t warned.  

The venue didn’t give much opportunity for staging but there were some nice glitter curtains and many clever signs to add interest. Unfortunately there were some sound issues.  Body mics had a few problems with cutting out and the speaker stage left had an annoying crackle.  Costumes and make-up were, as you would expect from reading the above, often over the top.

Buttons played by Nikki Dyer-Scott hit the stage running and never stopped. She had control from the start.  In a hugely confident performance she even kept her cool with the never-ending shout of “water the weed”.  That poor plant was waterlogged by the interval. Even in Littleport’s family pantos the supreme double act of Chelsea Booth and Becky Smith are outrageous but as Ugly Sisters Vee and Dee they lifted it to a whole new level.  Mind you Claire Lees as their mother Syphilis wasn’t so dusty.  Two very nice performances came from Hannah Ridley as the, fairly normal, Cinderella and Megan Bidecant as the Prince (complete with codpiece).  The two men in the cast Baron (Jack Barry) and Fairy (Jack Byng) were somewhat overshadowed by the females, but I enjoyed the Baron’s “I wanna Break Free”.  Well done to Sue Caller, who played the Town Crier, in endeavouring to stay in character and rise above the chaos. 

The Band led by MD Mark A J Checkley were set on the small stage behind the action and did a great job.  Songs were often brief snatches with two or three exceptions where the audience were more than happy to join in.  Choreography was minimal with the exception of the finale.  As the bar remained open throughout the evening audience participation was quite loud and the good humoured heckling gathered pace as the show progressed. 

This was an essentially ensemble piece nicely managed by Director Karen Booth and the audience all seemed to love it. Whilst I mostly enjoyed it, I would have liked a little more to have been left to my imagination.  That said it was quite funny and I think Littleport Players may well be re-visiting the adult panto phenomenon.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.