CINDER'S FELLA

What a breath of fresh air (but perhaps not for the faint-hearted!), an adult panto that was well-written but not over-studied, by that I mean it had all the traditional panto values, without trying to be too clever.   I also liked the slightly different ending, which was a nice surprise!

Griffins Adult Pantos are always well-attended, and as an audience we all had a brilliant time, so much to commend this production.

Good music from David Woods, a new MD with his assistant Bryony Burnham, who got plenty of variety from the numbers chosen, very good backing to all the songs – it is so nice to see an MD making the most of his keyboard facilities.  The songs were kept short and snappy, with good attention to detail, and all ensemble numbers were very tuneful, with plenty of volume and energy.

Lighting and sound enhanced the production.  Lighting was very effective and slightly different to the norm, with the sound projection just right, so that we heard every word.

Choreography was fairly simple but suited the various abilities of the cast, all the dance numbers were good and well performed.

This panto was exceptionally well-dressed, congratulations to the costume team.  Every costume looked fresh and colourful, with excellent wigs and accessories.

Now to the cast!  Darina McMorrow (Cinderella), in her first ever adult panto was both charming and not afraid to enter into the spirit of the show.  Darina sang well, and got good interaction with the other characters.

Buttons (Richard Alexander), had great rapport with the audience and the cast, terrific energy, he really threw himself into the part.

Stepmother (Tracey Chatterley), looked fantastic, but maintained her dignity and complete maliciousness throughout, a very good part for Tracey, I thought she shone.

The Ugly Sisters (Nico Bamford and Joshua Thompson), were great fun, again loads of energy and unpleasantness in their portrayals, they played well off each other – a very good pairing.

Prince Charming (Clare Watson), played the pompous Prince with confidence, a contrast to the other actors, nicely done.  Dandini (Allanah Rogers), gave us a good foil to the Prince, slightly more gentle, trying to get the Prince to be more understanding of his subjects!  I thought Clare and Allanah interacted well.

The Blue Fairy (Sophie Singleton-Sells), in her white dress looking lovely (‘Blue’ referring to her language), was feisty and charming, a good part for her, which she looked as if she enjoyed!

The cast was completed by Chloe Whitney and Victoria Burch, who entered into the proceedings with a sense of fun.

It was great to see how a small cast could both fill the stage, and make a good sound.  The whole cast showed energy and delivered some interesting dialogue with verve – I loved it.

It is very sad that in all probability this is the last production to take place at the Luton Library Theatre, but that said, it went out in style!

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.