Review - Cinderella - Little Theatre

Cinderella 

Little Theatre

15th Dec 2022

It's Panto time again - infact it's been panto time for a while now but this has been my first opportunity to get along to one! Life has been getting in the way of any festive feeling of late, and though I admit to being a bit of a grinch when it comes to early festivities, I do look to panto time as the signal for the celebrations to start. So I have been grinchy for longer than usual this year! However, The Little Theatre is providing some much needed seasonal cheer this week with Lee Brannigan Productions' Cinderella! 

This is pretty much a stock panto format - you'll find everything you would expect - goodies, baddies, fairy godmothers, silly songs, bad jokes, singing, dancing, ...and a happy ending! Sorry to give that bit away, but to be fair, if you don't know by now that pantos ALWAYS have a happy ending , then you simply haven't been paying attention! 

So, Cinderella is living at Hard-Up Hall with her friend Buttons, her father has been away on a trip and has tragically died soon after remarrying. His widow and two daughters are returning to his ancestral home in Cannyville in the hope of claiming any riches her husband has left her. I can't help feeling she wasn't too bright if she thought someone called Baron Hardup was a good catch! But hey - this is panto, and we're suspending our disbelief over everything! Obviously Baroness Hardup and her daughters, Fanella and Stella are not impressed with Cannyville, or Hardup hall, or their new step sister Cinderella - not even the rhyming name impresses them. She is quickly despatched to the scullery and the new Hardups take over the hall. 

Meanwhile, Prince Charming is out and about in the neighbourhood on a Royal Hunt, hunting not only a poor defenseless fox, but also a wife! Rivalry and hilarity ensue as the prince and Cinders fall for each other while the wicked step mother and sisters vie for his attentions. Devious plots are plotted, and heaven sent help from the fairy godmother saves the day. 

Thrown into the mix are musical numbers, dance routines, scary puppets, cute puppets, and a huge hat or two. Obviously.

Bella Bluebell is fabulous as the very glamorous, wicked (in more ways than one!) stepmother, sashaying on stage in an array of sparkling and outrageous frocks and wigs.  Her daughters Fanella (Megan Laing) and Stella (Melissa Cavanagh) bicker and backbite their way through the story in increasingly gaudy outfits. Kate Drysdale is a suitably sweet and forgiving Cinderella - I always find the heroine's a little insipid (not the fault of the actors playing the part, mostly it's down to the "tradition" of pantomimes) so it's a credit to Kate that she manages to make Cinders a little bit interesting, and she is also saved by a great singing voice for the musical numbers! Simon Stuart as the Prince, and Adam Davison as Dandini are a great pairing. Adam's facial expressions tell a great story!  Perhaps the surprise voice of the show is Rosie Diaz who is quite reserved and quiet for a fairy godmother - but her musical numbers revealed a strong singing voice! Last but not least we have Buttons - always my favourite in Cinderella and Brodie Daniel did not disappoint! There was great chemistry between Buttons and the Fairy Godmother and between Buttons and Baroness Hardup. His physical humour had the audience in stitches - especially when he goes all wibbly-wobbly under the fairy godmother's spell. 

We can't go without mentioning the dancers - no panto is complete without them - from Lee Brannigan Performance Arts Academy, CM Dance and Timeless Academy. A lot of dancers in a small space at times,  all beautifully and skillfully choreographed by Chantal McCartney. 

The show moves along at a cracking pace - the banter and one liners are nonestop, the jokes come thick and fast, and the singing is top class, not a bum note to be heard! 

It's fun, it's saucy, it will make you laugh out loud, and at times you'll gasp and think that's a bit much - we shouldn't be laughing at that in a family show...but it's funny and if you can't get away with a bit of the risque in a panto, then when can you?  

There are very limited tickets available, so if you're at a loose end one night next week grab one of the last remaining seats and go along to top up your festive spirit. Or, book now for next year's Beauty and the Beast to be sure you don't miss out! It'll be worth it - oh yes it will! 

Denise Sparrowhawk

Preview - Hobson's Choice - Royalty Theatre

ROYALTY THEATRE TO PRODUCE HOBSON’S CHOICE

The Royalty Theatre, Sunderland, continues its 2018/19 season with the much-loved classic Hobson’s Choice.

Harold Brighouse’s play, made into a 1954 David Lean film starring Charles Laughton, centres around the life of cobbler Henry Hobson.  His comfortable world is thrown into disarray when his ambitious daughter Maggie decides to set up her own business, along with Hobson’s bootmaker, William Mossop.

A strong cast includes David Armstrong as Henry Hobson, Corinne Kilvington as Maggie and Jordan Carling as William Mossop, as well as a number of new faces.

Although first staged in 1916, and set in 1880s, Hobson's Choice has very modern themes, exploring the role of women in society and business, patriarchy, bullying and emancipation. Over a hundred years since it was first staged it is still relevant today. DS



The play runs from 18th to 23rd February on the theatre’s main stage.
Tickets for regular season shows are £8/£6.50 in advance, £9/£7.50 on the night.

Tickets can be booked via www.ticketsource.co.uk/royaltytheatre or on 0333 666 3366.

Group bookings for parties of 10 or more can be arranged via rtboxoffice@gmail.com.

Cinderella - Review - People's Theatre

Cinderella
The People's Theatre
8th December 2018


Written by Philip Meeks
Directed by Emma Jane Richards

Panto season has started again, and this year The People's Theatre have returned to the old classic Cinderella for their seasonal offering. I first saw Cinderella here back in 2011 with Emma Jayne Richards in the title role. This year she is directing the show and though the basic formula is intact, there are one or two little tweaks to the recipe.



To begin with, the stage doesn't give much away - just the curtain with Cinderella in suitably sparkly letters (so we know what we're here to see!) I admit to be being a touch surprised. This is pretty bare, no hint of a town, no castle in the distance, no branches suggesting a creepy forest? Two doorways either side of the stage draped with pink swags are the only clues to the princessy tale about to unfold. But, oh when the lights go down and the music starts! It's like the build up to the Oscars with music that builds to a fanfare crescendo and lights that dance across the stage and up into the audience like fairy dust...searchlights beam across us, as if looking for the stars on the red carpet! And then a flash and a bang - we screech in surprise and laugh at ourselves as Fairy Moonglow (Lynn Huntley) appears to introduce the story. She doesn't have it all to herself though - her evil sister Countess Malady (Cat White) muscles in to break the bad news that she has just married Count Hardup (Roger Liddle)  and is now Cinderella's new mother. I can't help but feel parents should take more care when naming their supernatural offspring - calling a fairy "Malady" is just asking for trouble.  

You all know the story - Cinderella (Georgia White) is forced out of her place in the family by the new stepmother and the ugly sisters, Buttons (Joe Robson) loves her but she only likes him, a handsome prince comes to visit but swaps places with his manservant and is taken down a peg by Cinders and is immediately smitten by her. He arranges a ball, Cinders can't go, cue Fairy Godmother and pumpkins and glass slippers and romance till midnight. 


Thrown into the mix are the usual panto ingredients:
There are the cross-dressing dames - Calpolla and Covonia, played by Stephen Waller and Dan Dickinson - who bicker and bite their way through the show, arguing with each other, with Buttons, with the audience...with everyone and anyone, except the good looking guys, basically! These two pretty sisters(!) are living examples of why proper blending is SO important when applying your make-up. 
There are helpful woodland animals, played by the ensemble from Jill Errington School of Dance, and the scary haunted bedroom scene (so scary one little girl had to be taken out until the scene was safely over!) 
And of course there is the community singing which this year is the ubiquitous Baby Shark - you know it had to be in there somewhere!

The script is pretty standard, but nice touches that raise this up from standard panto fayre are the ensemble of footmen and Dandini (James Harvey), the prince's right hand man, who are a rather hipster troup, looking very smart in their frock coats and stockings. While Prince Charming (Nick Warneford) is a deliciously swaggering youth. There is a distinct tongue in cheek feel to their scenes and dance numbers. Director Emma Jane Richards has chosen to dispense with the tradition of having a female actor playing the leading man so both prince Charming and Dandini are played by male actors. Only the Dames remain in that traditional comedy role.    

The lynch pin of Cinderella is of course Buttons and Joe Robson does a sterling job of keeping the audience engaged and joining up the dots in the story. On Saturday he gave a mammoth performance clearly struggling with a seasonal bug, and had almost no voice by the end of the show. I hope someone had a hot whisky and lemon ready for him in the green room after the show!

Photo credit: Paula Smart

This is a very colourful, visual production, scenery is at a minimum but the costumes and lighting work to give a sumptuous and glamourous feel and the "awwhhh" factor comes with the young ensemble dancers who are beyond cute, and the real, tiny pony pulling the carriage is a lovely touch. It has everything you need for a sparkly Christmas treat for the family.

Cinderella plays until 16th December and booking midweek is recommended - the weekend shows are already sold out!

Denise Sparrowhawk