Cinderella- The pantomime to see this season!

A stunning set, classic comical characters and a lifelike horse that flies; this is what ‘show business’ is all about. Hannah Stanton takes a look at this year’s pantomime of Cinderella in Canterbury.

From the moment two dancers spring on to the stage and wow the crowd with their gymnastic moves at the beginning of the show, you just know it’s going to be a pantomime to remember. Writer, director and producer Paul Hendry could not have a picked a better Prince Charming than John Partridge, nor could he have cast Stephen Mulhern better in the role of the sweet and lovable Buttons.

The Fairy Godmother, played by Sue Devaney, brings great warmth to the captive audience and gets the show rolling.  One of her first lines,: “A flying book? Isn’t that novel!” makes the audience fall for her. She sets herself up to be a much-loved character of the show with her Bolton accent and quirky presence; she soon has children giggling and parents laughing all the way through.

Her fun approach, combined with the Ugly Step Sisters’ ridiculous costumes and slapstick comedy, creates the perfect combination for classic comedy. Prince Charming and Dandini could be described as a great comedy act. John Partridge has many talents to offer, as he is both funny and highly attractive, the perfect prince in fact. His performance shows he is no one-trick pony though, as going from an EastEnders character to pantomime role seems to have been an easy transition for him.

The dance routines in this show, choreographed by Paul Tracy, are performed to modern music to keep the pantomime modern and upbeat. Prince Charming’s best bit of the show has to be when he sings ‘It’s a New Day’; the audience loved his powerful and captivating voice.

Before the performance I got a chance to speak to some of the audience members in the foyer. One eight-year old girl, who was seeing the pantomime for the second time this season, said: “I just think this is the best pantomime ever.  When I’m older I want to be Cinderella because she wears the nicest clothes.” Her mother added: “We’ve already seen Cinderella once before Christmas, but because all my children enjoyed the performance so much, we wanted to give them another opportunity to see it before it closes.  It’s a brilliant night out for all the family and we’ve been talking about it for weeks!”

Buttons’ and Dandini’s funniest part of the performance is when they use a box full of children’s board games, which they pull out at random to create a story. This proved to be hilarious and had the audience, young and old, in fits of laughter. Even Buttons and Dandini were finding it hard to contain their laughter at times through this act.

The first of half the show ended with the audience on the edge of their seats and children brimming with excitement, as Cinderella hovered above the stage in her magnificent carriage. She wore a dazzling dress and the carriage was drawn by a very lifelike horse. A snow fall of foam rained on to the audience as the first half drew to a close. Clearly a lot of investment has gone in to make this show so good, and the crowd’s reaction proves it has paid off.

A sweet touch was added at the beginning of the second half: a little girl found a gold key underneath her seat and was asked to come up on stage to meet the characters and have her photo taken with them. This was a good way of warming up the audience after the interval.

During the second half the entertainment continued as the Ugly Step Sisters pulled out a false leg to try and fit in to Cinderella’s glass slipper.  This was much to the chagrin of the Prince, who soon realised that they had locked Cinders in the cellar. He came to her rescue and proposed to her. Kate Quinnell, who plays Cinderella, makes a very fitting princess with her perfect smile and big, bright eyes.

Near the end of the show Buttons encourages the audience to their feet and splits them in half to form a singing competition. The crowd loved it, and it created much excitement among the kids.

After the performance I was lucky enough to be invited back stage, and whilst all the actors were understandably keen to get changed and get home after such an exhausting and exhilarating performance, I had five minutes to speak to Sue Devaney who plays Cinderella’s famous Fairy Godmother.  I asked her whether she was still enjoying the role despite the pantomime’s long season. “Oh I couldn’t be happier in this role; I feel it was written for me.” she said. “Seriously, this has been such a great run for us, we’ve had fantastic fun at rehearsals, excellent performances night after night, and Canterbury has the best audiences.  This is a dream role for me.”

There is a great mix of kids’ and adults’ jokes in this pantomime, showing that this family show is more than able to cater for all ages. There was a superb atmosphere all the way through the show and a real sense of enthusiasm in the audience. A classic pantomime feel I would say, proven by the crowd’s constant engagement. The bright and glamorous sets were very impressive, and really added to the performance; these, coupled with clever lighting showed the professional standards of the pantomime.

Cinderella certainly had a spectacular, all-singing all-dancing finish too. The next pantomime Sleeping Beauty starts it’s run on the November 30 2012.

You can book tickets now at the Marlowe Theatre: on 01227 787787.