Cinderella Archives - North West End UK

23Dec

By Wendy McEwanNo Comments

Scotland

Cinderella – Edinburgh People’s Theatre

It’s that time of the year again and Edinburgh People’s Theatre’s panto this season is Cinderella. It’s the classic story, but with a few extra characters so that as many company members as possible can get their moment in the spotlight. The show opens with a reminder that we can boo, cheer, and shout out because this is a pantomime. This helps the audience to overcome any initial shyness and participate right from the start. Little reminders of theatre etiquette, done humorously, are a great way of getting the audience on side. Cinderella’s stepsisters, Mattie and Hattie, played by Mandy Black and Gemma Dutton, are a lot of fun in their garish costumes and wigs. The shameless man-chasers enter through the auditorium, all the better to trade insults across, and with...

18Dec

By Jackie FoottitNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Cinderella – Hull New Theatre

I don’t know what panto favourite, Neil Hurst, had eaten before taking to the Hull New Theatre stage on Sunday evening, but whatever it was had really oiled his make-‘em-laugh muscles - he was in top comedic form. As Buttons, in the age-old favourite, Cinderella, Hurst was on stage for most of the evening, delighting what looked like a sell-out theatre, from curtain up. And what a curtain! Featuring just one word - the panto’s title - dripping in glitter, bedazzling and making us impatient for what was to come, as did the images swirling around the walls and ceiling. The plot of this fairytale needs no explanation, so I’ll keep it short - poor girl, Cinderella or “Cinders” (Rebekah Lowings), mistreated by her two Ugly Sisters, Hernia (Peter Peverley) and Verruca (Jack Land Noble),...

18Dec

By Max EdenNo Comments

North West

Cinderella – Buxton Opera House

Buxton Opera House's annual pantomime is always a highlight in the festive calendar and this year’s production of Cinderella might be the very best one yet! Directed by Paul Kerryson and produced by Sarah Kell, this year’s pantomime is an enchanting spectacle that has all the ingredients of the perfect panto! The star-studded cast, featuring the hilarious James Holmes as Tess (returning due to phenomenal demand), larger than life David Dale as Claudia, the talented Georgia Gallagher as Cinderella, the charming Ross Clifton as Prince, Charlotte Hannah Jones delivering powerhouse vocals as the fairy godmother, and the loveable Aidan Bailey as Buttons, all delivering a performance that was nothing short of magical, backed by an incredible ensemble of dancers, Buns the Rabbit played by F...

16Dec

By Hannah WildeNo Comments

North West

Cinderella – Contact Theatre

Panto season is well and truly upon us, with this unique retelling of Cinderella just one of many pantomime offerings to get Manchester audiences feeling festive this year. Featuring a treasure trove of talented performers, this version of Cinderella is the story we all know and love - disenfranchised girl bullied by her relentless stepsisters, until she meets her Prince Charming at the ball - but with some comedic twists, in true pantomime style. Director Sean Canning said he hopes the audience “will cheer, boo and clap along” - and that, they did. The show had everything you could want from a classic pantomime: drag queens, tongue-in-cheek humour, theatrical villains and fabulous song and dance numbers. Photo: Shay Rowan The script was a little lost in parts, and some of the ...

14Dec

By Paul ClarkeNo Comments

Yorkshire & Humber

Cinderella – Bradford Alhambra

Taking your seat in this historic theatre you can’t help reflecting that for the local mill workers who made this city rich a festive trip to the panto must have been a real treat, and this old school spectacular with a modern sensibility proved to be just that. Unlike other pantos that often push the boundaries of good taste this is very much a family show, so grannies and the little kids being carried into the venue can all share some good clean fun. Cinderella is a no expense spared panto from Britain’s biggest festive producers that starts with Strictly star John Waite flying down onto Ian Westbrook’s big set. The hard working cast then gleefully go over the top from there with daft jokes aplenty, flamboyant costumes, energetic dancers, pyrotechnics, a couple of real Shetland ponies...

13Dec

By Maani WayNo Comments

London

Cinderella – New Wimbledon Theatre

Pantomime season is back and this year you shall go to the ball! Craig Revel Horwood stars as Cinderella’s Wicked Stepmother in this fresh and colourful version of Cinderella set in the great land of Wimbledon. We are introduced to the characters of the show in a bold and modern number describing the local area of Wimbledon. The set is bold and remnant of a fairy tale, with everything you’d expect for a pantomime. The grand staircase used for the palace is impressive and fitting, with the decoration of the wings adding to the grandeur. Cinderella’s carriage at the end of the first act is a stunning surprise, leaving audience members in magical disbelief. Our narrator of the show is Buttons (Pete Firman) who is exceptional at holding the audience’s attention, both children and adults,...

Cinderella – Portobello Town Hall, Edinburgh

13Dec

By Greg HolsteadNo Comments

Scotland

Cinderella – Portobello Town Hall, Edinburgh

The story of a once beautiful town hall falling into rack and ruin but being saved, just in the nick of time, by the local community sounds like a fairytale, but here we are in the stunning interior of the revitalised Portobello Town Hall and the successful staging of the family favourite pantomime, Cinderella. Big, bold, colourful and entertaining. This Stage Door Entertainment, production of the timeless classic, could perhaps do with a bit of a reboot, riven as it is with stereotypes and outdated values, but nevertheless, from the reactions of the almost full house, still appears to hit every mark. Tommie Travers, Musical Director and co-Producer, correctly puts music centre stage, in a show which is jam-packed with banging tunes and great singing, and with a leading lady, Amy Cam...

7Dec

By Miranda GreenNo Comments

North West

Cinderella – Storyhouse Chester

I couldn’t have loved this production of Cinderella at Chester’s Storyhouse more: pyrotechnics, smoke-filled bubbles, balloons, more costume changes than the Oscars, Disco Goblins like a pod of Megaminds in silver turbans and steampunk goggles, and some absolute bangers belted out by the multitalented cast who can not only sing and dance but can apparently play cello and sax too … it’s a sensational feast of high energy and feel-good. But to begin at the beginning: the light, bright and very beautiful set is immediately arresting. Colour-changing globes hang from the ceiling like so many glass floats, each representing a fairytale to be told. Melinda Orengo’s Fairy Godmother appears, wearing lamé tassels and looking like the lovechild of the Great Gatsby and a disco Pocohontas, and enco...

4Dec

By Jennifer LaishleyNo Comments

London

Cinderella – Lyric Hammersmith

Lyric Hammersmith’s annual panto promises endless family fun in this modern retelling of Cinderella. In this story Cinderella is a thriving business woman who isn’t quite honest about how hard life is on Instagram. Filled with recognisable songs with a cheeky panto twist, this panto is not to be missed. The Lyric Theatre runs as a Charity and offers a number of complementary tickets to local schools during the panto season and also runs a number of initiatives to support the local community theatre scene. Despite the charitable status, the lyric is still able to mount a West End level show! Tilly La Belle Yengo used fantastic vocals as Cinderella. She led the cast effortlessly, pacing the play perfectly, enjoying some comical moments of interaction with the audience. Tilly’s Cinderel...

23Nov

By Gill LewisNo Comments

North West

Cinderella – Everyman Theatre

More pop panto than rock ‘n ‘roll with hits performed live by its talented cast. Does well to send out all the right messages but at the sacrifice of its charm through its inflated sense of self-awareness. Our tale begins with the sassy Cilla Black of Fairyland, Dame Fairy Godmother (Ben Welch), aka the DFG, who emerges holding a red heart shaped balloon reminiscent of Banksy’s ‘Girl with the Balloon’, the significance of which, new hope and love, is a taste of things to come with this journey of self-love and acceptance. Along with successor and apprentice, ‘our Graham’, (comfortably played by natural panto veteran Adam Keast), our matchmaker DFG heads over to the Ooglay’s where they find Ellanora (Grace Venus), whose life resembles that of Cinderella - who ...