R and H Cinderella

Well, take a traditional story and ignore the fact that it is everyone’s favourite pantomime…strip away the slapstick and any double entendres, ignore the fact that of course children’s favourite Buttons is not a character in this R and H version…but replace the laughter (well we still had ‘Ugly’ Sisters!) with a touch of pathos and some great tunes from the R and H stable, and you have a new take on the story…

 Here Spotlight put every ounce of energy into this rather predictable tale. It was good to see some new faces and new to Spotlight, Megan Oakes was an enchanting Cinderella with some outstanding vocals, especially ‘In My Own Little Corner’ where her expressive style added emotion and belief to her rendition thus captivating and  sharing the top billing  with  Prince Christopher (Neville Rowell)  who as another newcomer to Spotlight showed his vocal prowess to full extent in all of his numbers, sharing the lovely duet ‘Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful’ with Cinderella. They complemented each other with Cinderella’s emotional expressive persona contrasting with a more laid back style from Prince Christopher who was indeed charming! His interaction and role swap with his loyal Royal Steward Lionel (Joe Learner) worked well and Lionel seemed to enjoy the subterfuge! He was indeed the perfect foil to the Prince with just the right ‘straight’ demeanour throughout.

 Of course we had the ‘Awkward and Sullen’ Step Sisters Grace (Angie Smith) and Joy (Amber Leonie) who certainly lit up the stage and came as close to panto as was allowed in this production…They had cutting lines for Cinderella and obnoxious manners and indeed some moments of comedy to savour… I loved their flamboyant attire but just wondered if their costumes were a tad archetypal panto whereas perhaps their behaviour was more important than their appearance ? No matter we loved to hate them and their vocal delivery together in ‘The Prince Is Giving a Ball’ and ‘Stepsisters Lament’ showed their vocal prowess. Their Mother, Cinder’s Stepmother, (Pat Newman) had some great put downs and showed her extreme distaste for Cinderella with a nicely restrained venom! Her anxiety to ‘off load’ her two real daughters built nicely as a slow burn to desperation…but of course we all knew it was not to be! Now we had to have a Fairy Godmother and Vanessa Hembling showed us a calm and ‘in control’ touch of magic as she worked her magic to reveal the magnificent coach and, with a puff of ‘Fairy smoke’, an ingenious ‘on stage’ dress transformation for Cinderella revealing her Ball gown to end act one!

  Add to the mix a somewhat ‘put upon’ King Maximillian (Lee Peck)  with the suitably ill fitting crown and a wry sense of humour with his Queen Constantine (Clare Jameson)…she who must be obeyed…The chorus of merchants and Villagers etc made the most of their sparse appearances but sang and moved with real enthusiasm aided by the live seven piece band who although excellent, just occasionally overpowered the dialogue. Still great to have live music! A special mention for two outstanding dancers (Annabel Morton and Sophie Carter), with delightful movement and interpretation as a real bonus!   

 This was an entertaining interpretation of this traditional tale albeit quite reduced in length (finished by 9.30, with a twenty minute interval!).

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