I spent my afternoon at The Grand theatre Blackpool, at the matinee of this year’s Christmas Pantomime Cinderella.
As usual, a star studded lineup including Hayley Tamaddon as the fairy godmother.
Britain’s Got Talent’s local Steve Royle as a lovable Buttons who certainly earned his money, in my opinion the funniest part of the show. It had all of the traditional pantomime aspects that one would expect, the audience participation, the good vs evil, the happy ending, even the song sheet at the end.
Local talent, a very pretty Kitty Harris in the title role, direct from her recent stint as standby for the leading role in Burlesque the Musical UK Tour.
A genuinely funny script, very well put together, colourful creative scenery, and a strong team. Direction by Kylie Butler and Choreography from Katie Hill.
Musical direction by Sam Coats also on keys, Live musicians including Hannah Mitchell on bass and Andy Morely on drums. A varied strong collection of musical numbers throughout, Including a selection from the musical Wicked.
Very strong vocal moments from both Toby Turpin as the Prince and Sam Ebenezer as Dandini. I want it that way – from &Juliet being a favourite for me.
Spectacular costumes throughout, costume designer and head of wardrobe Elizabeth Dennis.
Particularly well detailed costumes for the ugly sisters played by the entertaining duo Jamie Morris and Tarot Joseph. The costumes just seemed to get bigger and better in every scene.
Having said all of that I wasn’t a fan of the hair pieces used for the senior ensemble, some of them just didn’t seem to match up and appeared to be very fake, that just stood out to me because everything else was so well put together.
Local dance school The Barbara Jackson Theatre arts Centre providing the junior ensemble. Eight very talented youngsters, Singing as well as dancing, very professional, well presented and a lovely addition to the production.
The show was full of energy and fun, it wasn’t perfect, some sound balance issues, particularly with the fairy’s microphone placement, it just seemed to be way to close to her mouth visually, she was too loud in comparison to everyone else. Also a couple of times the musics was a lot louder than the vocal.
Vocally it wasn’t excellent the songs were hit and miss but the run has only just started so may be teething issues.
I loved the live ponies onstage during Cinderella’s journey to the palace.
Performances running from 6th December through to the 5th January 2025, https://www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk/
Reviewer: Rebecca Casey
Reviewed: 10th December 2024
North West End UK Rating:
Rating: 3 out of 5.
