Cinderella by Richard Ramsey

We were welcomed into the well presented foyer of the Church by the friendly Front of House team lead by John Pettifor ,who showed us to our seats in the auditorium, where I thought the bean bags at the front for the younger members of the audience was a great idea.. As this was the newly formed Company’s first production, I understand that they have been doing quite a bit of fund raising to get started, and so the staging, built by John Hewitt and Richard Ramsey, lighting and scenery was simple but effective. The rotating flats were nicely painted by Nina Sage and efficiently operated by the Cast. Makeup by Debbie Millier, Vanessa Turner and Anne Pettifor was very good especially for the Ugly Sisters. This well written adaptation of Cinderella by Richard Ramsey, was a variation on the theme and worked perfectly well for this relatively small cast and venue, whilst managing to retain all of the traditional Pantomime elements you would expect. 15 year old Harriet Millier was a perfectly lovely Cinderella with a maturity beyond her years and a great singing voice. 15 year old Christian Turner bravely donned the powdered wig and pink frock coat of Prince Charming and did an admirable job. Brian Radbone as Buttons did very well in delivering most of his lines in rhyme and Anne Pettifor was great as the wicked stepmother. Richard Ramsey and Mike Richards had a ball as the Ugly Sisters Emmeroidia and Diarhemia. Vanessa Turner and Peter Sampson were as royal as possible. Robert Wain was a very entertaining Churney the Milkman and David Turner was a soft spoken and very feminine Fairy Godmother. Adam Sampson was likeable as the downtrodden Footman. John Hewitt played the evil Ratcatcher with relish, as he tried to kill the sweetest bunch of Mice I have ever seen, provided by Footsteps Dance Academy. Ben Parnell and Frank Graver provided the musical accompaniment with suitable understatement. Anne Pettifor and Vanessa Turner’s direction was absolutely right given the size of the stage area. There were some good characterisations and most impressive of all was managing to get all of the cast dancing on stage in the ballroom scene.

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