You shall go to the ball next Christmas with the spectacular family pantomime Cinderella starring the fab-u-lous Craig Revel Horwood as The Wicked Stepmother and Paul Chuckle as Baron Hardup.
Packed with all of the traditional pantomime ingredients audiences expect, Cinderella features laugh-out-loud comedy, stunning scenery, beautiful costumes and plenty of boos and hisses. Join Cinders as she goes from rags to riches, outwits her wicked sisters and meets her dashing Prince Charming. The clock is ticking, the season is strictly limited, so book your tickets now!
Our Verdict
“Strictly fab-u-lous darling,” is the refrain of the night as none other than Craig Revel Horwood steps into panto guise this year as Cinderella’s wicked stepmother Demonica. The TV judge is a stylish addition to the cast and adds his own brand of sardonic charm to the usual blend of panto fun, his tongue-in-cheek fate as the conniving Demonica being to co-present on Len Goodman’s Partners in Rhyme programme!
It’s a true potpourri of a show with something for everyone (and lots of glitz to spare) although children will probably derive the most fun from this production, courtesy of Paul Chuckle’s affable Baron Hardup and comedian Phil Butler’s various antics as the hapless and lovelorn Buttons. One of the best scenes sees Cinderella and her Prince Charming crooning the Bryan Adams song “Everything I Do” precariously perched on a woodland log whilst the neglected Buttons keeps devising ways to get Cinderella’s attention and in doing so all descends into classic panto farce as the first one then another person rolls on and off the log.
With a firm emphasis on the panto’s local connections, there’s the usual comic mayhem in abundance and games of frenetic ingenuity which children clearly love. Songs come courtesy of this year’s big screen hit The Greatest Showman and I particularly enjoyed the presence of the Wicked Stepsisters, here slyly named Claudia and Tess in homage to Revel-Horwood’s presence. They are an unqualified delight, positively oozing florid malicious intent and they feel a little underused; their roles would certainly benefit from some expansion as they brighten each scene in which they appear.
The audience clearly love seeing Revel-Horwood display his considerable dancing prowess- and his Strictly baddie side of course- and there’s also genuine charm for everyone in the sight of Cinderella’s carriage and horses taking flight at the end of the panto’s first half, a glimpse of Christmas magic that offers festive fun for all ages.