REVIEW - CINDERELLA

Show Up! Southend was invited to watch CINDERELLA at The Towngate Theatre in Basildon and we were so glad we got to see it, as it was such a good panto!! Slick, funny with an incredibly talented cast.

The stars of the show were the young ensemble who brought everything to their individual performances as well as the group routines. A mix of young kids and teens, they gave energy, attitude and commitment to every part of their performance. I like seeing pantos where the young ensemble is a mix of ages. But the best pantos are where the young ensemble blend into the production (rather than just coming on stage for a dance routine or two). And this is what we had at Basildon, the young ensemble were in and out of the show, added into scenes, given some lines and it worked brilliantly. With such a talented young ensemble it really gave the piece gravitas – with the dance numbers having a huge ensemble at times it felt like I was watching a big musical. (Although sometimes the ‘chaos’ scenes looked a little overcrowded.) There were moments it took me to realise I was watching the teens dancing not the adult ensemble! The production really lucked out with this talented bunch – all of whom could have been professional performers.

I watched the show last year and I think it’s safe to say that Ian Hallard is much better suited to Ugly Sister than he is to a regular dame. He shone as Annie Hardup – perfect timing, delivery and sassy evil-ness. He worked well with his partner in crime Fannie Hardup (Stewart Briggs) – the two of them bouncing off each other nicely. Although I felt like we could have seen a lot more from Stewart Briggs, seemingly playing it safe with his performance – relying on brilliant grotesque facial expressions and well placed fake corpsing. I wonder if this was partly because of the costumes – I love when dames have big, imposing costumes and there was no lack of them in this production. Some were simply stunning. The bigger the headpieces the better – but it takes time, experience and practice to be able to master balancing something that big on your head, and that’s when they are made to fit your specific head shape. I know from working on pantos for over a decade, that these headpieces will not have been made for that performer and the wardrobe team would have done their best to make it fit. But when you can see the performer having to straighten not one but several of the headpieces throughout the show, you have to question whether giving the actor the opportunity to perform without holding back, is a better pay off than the reaction to the costume. 

The costumes were brilliant though – an enormous step up from last year, and the set was also excellent. I particularly loved the scene change from the Cinderella and Prince duet, back into the reality of Hard Up Hall. Perfectly executed by the backstage crew; it was really, really, slick. Alice Hoult as Cinderella was strong, as was Aaron Bladen as Dandini and Jack Speck as the Prince. Fantastic vocals and really great chemistry between them all. Sophie Ladds as the evil stepmother was brilliant, the perfect balance of evil baddie with a sharp comic delivery. She was adored by the audience.  

It was also great to see that Buttons wasn’t played by a 50 year old comic as is common for other venues. Luke Ward-Wilkinson’s performance was the perfect ‘children’s Buttons’ – sweet, energetic and playful. What the performance lacked in comic experience was overshadowed by the heart and believability that Luke Ward-Wilkinson brought to the role. And I have to say I think this is what the role should be about. Noone ever believes some old guy off the tele is in love with Cinderella. But we believed it in this panto!

The script felt fresh with lovely modern additions, including adding the Prince to a dating app, and a whole routine with Alexa, plus a special mention to the end of Act 1 which was simply beautiful. The only downside to the show would be if I took a step back from the production and viewed it from a distance. Although there were several progressive ideas in the script which were great to see, it’s hard to take that as anything other than performative when the casting is simply not diverse enough. Plus the unsubtle hints that Buttons and Dandini could be in love were sweet but it also felt like the attempt at inclusion fell short – the audience was behind them and wanted them to say they were together. Theatre as an artform has been challenging systems and society since it began – we shouldn’t let panto be any exception. And I was willing this production to be brave and say what it was desperate to say but it backed out at the last moment. 

That said, I had a wonderful evening and thoroughly enjoyed this pantomime – I hope next year it can be braver. Plus a mention that at the show I watched, there was a standing ovation and, although it was prompted by the friends and family in the audience, after the commitment and talent displayed that evening, it was very well deserved.

Cinderella runs until the 2nd January. Book your tickets here!