Sale Nomads are back at Waterside Arts with their annual post Christmas pantomime. This year Cinderella is the one in favour for the first time since 2017. In this production we have all the usual protagonists – Cinders, Buttons, Prince Charming, Dandini and of course the ugly sisters.
The Nomads have high production standards and here they work hard to keep those standards in place. In the majority, it works. Good actors. Well designed and executed set. Excellent technical execution. The one blip – parts of the script. Pantomime is always a derivative art form. The basic plot, the corny jokes and so on. Some blatant plagiarism is a little harder to handle. Maybe the writers didn’t expect audience members to be as familiar with the work of Douglas Adams that we can even specify the episode which the quote is taken from. However, this aside, Cinderella is a fun romp of an evening’s entertainment.
Ian Moss as Buttons does sterling work, both with his audience engagement and ability to carry a lot of the basic work of the production. With a natural gentle charisma, he draws involvement from the audience and handles the hecklers excellently. Angela Cooke in the title role has a sweet persona and an excellent singing voice. A shout out here to the Wardrobe Department for her transformation dress.
Sarah Clark is a visually impressive Prince Charming and by herself has a great singing voice. Unfortunately, in the duets with Cinderella there is a clash of pitch which is a shame for both actors. Jess Dyer as the Prince’s valet Dandini is obviously having fun with the role and works hard to create a character which is often underwritten.
The show is stolen by the two ugly sisters Wilma and Betty, played with great skill by Adam Garnett and Stuart Sefton. A natural chemistry between them allows for ad libs which are perfectly timed and often very funny, while they camp up the script with aplomb and exuberance.
The other characters are generally well acted and are ably backed by the chorus of adults, young dancers and little dancers with young Arlo Yates stealing a few hearts in his mini Buttons outfit. This reviewer was not impressed by the ‘pantomime villains’ in Trump and Poo (tin). While making the script current is important, these were the two characters felt badly written and overplayed.
A typical bright pantomime set is carefully crafted into the Waterside stage, and the downstage sections are well done to allow the set changes behind. Sound and lighting effects are also excellent.
Sale Nomad’s Cinderella isn’t perfect. But as a light hearted and entertaining evening out and a strong way to get children enjoying the theatre, then you can’t do much worse than supporting a wonderful local group of people.
Reviewer: Helen Jones
Reviewed: 9th January 2026
North West End UK Rating:
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